On the Contrary
by akamai
Summary: “We’re getting married.” “Okay.” Little did they know, they had just conceived the beginnings of insanity. Annoying friends and family are one thing, but when an outsider ends up in Konoha, it's a whole different story. SasuSaku. DISCONTINUED
1. Then Comes Marriage

**Summary: **Manga Spoilers. "We're getting married." "Okay." Little did they know, they had just conceived the beginnings of insanity. Annoying friends and family are one thing, but when an outsider ends up in Konoha, it's a whole different story. SasuSaku.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Naruto_.

**On the Contrary **

**Chapter One**

**.: Then Comes Marriage :.  
**

For the first time after eight long years of being a kunoichi, Sakura's life had finally become fairly mundane. Once she had become a jounin, the burden of frequent missions had gradually disappeared. There was seldom need for A and S ranked missions, but that was something she wasn't going to complain about. Of course, living in a village full of shinobi guaranteed a hectic hospital, but Sakura had finally adjusted to a busy working schedule.

Sakura's best friends of the past were still her best friends of today, but there was a shift in dynamics over the years. She was still trying to figure out Sai, but had nonetheless grown accustomed to him. Tsunade and Kakashi were more of her equals than superiors when both respect and abilities were concerned. It was predicted that she would surpass the Godaime, so it was inevitable that after her teammates had surpassed the other Sanin she sought to do the same. Kakashi was still mysterious and impressive, but the young kunoichi had learned to use the plethora of tricks up her sleeve so he could meet his match.

Naruto was undeniably one of Sakura's best friends, and when she thought they couldn't be any better pals Naruto had constantly proved her wrong. Like he was with all of his precious people, Naruto was always there for her even when she was at her most insufferable. For a while in the past they had playfully flirted with each other, but neither took the other's romantic gestures seriously. It was natural, because although Naruto was more than Sakura's best friend, he could never be her lover.

Despite her large number of male acquaintances, Sakura had a few good female friends as well. Even so, Ino was major girl friend in Sakura's life in a surprisingly good way. Not the one who would steal her 'boyfriend' as she would have attempted when they were young, but the one who she learned she could talk to about things the men in her life just wouldn't get. Ino had a knack for trying to fluster Sakura, but that was really nothing new.

Sasuke was Sasuke.

He was her friend, but more than just a buddy. He was not her boyfriend, but arguably still The Man in her life. Sasuke was still as stoic and arrogant as ever, but his demeanor didn't keep his teammates from tolerating him. Even with Sasuke's adamant behavior over the years he had managed to graduate from holding Sakura's wrist to holding her hand. He sometimes went out to eat and take walks with her, alone, but it was not a date. When mid-March came around and he gave her a gift, it was not for White Day, but an early birthday present because Sasuke didn't believe in boyfriends, girlfriends, and whatnot.

Yes, Haruno Sakura's life had finally become normal, but the simplicity of her life had changed drastically in literally a matter of three seconds.

She and Sasuke were taking one of their walks—not a date of course—around the outskirts of Konoha. It was April, so the neutral weather was fitting for the mood of the two ninjas. Their hands were loosely intertwined until Sasuke had suddenly halted and spun Sakura in front of him.

It was fortunate for Sakura that the day's winds were not strong, as it along with Sasuke's force would have knocked her over. She waited in anticipation to hear the Uchiha's intention, because his sudden reactions were usually reserved for something extremely important.

"We're getting married." His declaration was curt, but his familiar intense stare seemed to be ceaseless.

"Okay," she responded, and they resumed walking.

It was to be expected, because that was just the way he was.

Little did they know, they had just conceived the beginnings of insanity.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This one story will be finished, and I already wrote four chapters (FYI, they are longer than this one) during the course of yesterday and today.

If you liked this, please review! I noticed that I always seem to get a lot of story alerts and few reviews. It would make me more motivated to write the other chapters, that's for sure.


	2. After Youth

**Author's Note:** Yeah, so you've probably noticed I posted this early. Since I wrote more chapters I decided to just post chapter two. Thanks for the reviews! I tried to read and review some of everyone's stories in return, but if I missed yours feel free to tell me.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Two**

**.: After Youth :.**

The whole thing was surreal. It was not yet one hour later when Sakura had walked into her home to tell her mother of the news. Of course, it wasn't really her home anymore as she had moved out years ago, but that didn't keep her from stopping by.

Sakura had walked in to witness her mother deeply sleeping on the couch. The daily Konoha news hung loosely from her hand and Sakura removed it from her grip. Stifling a laugh, she nudged her.

Almost immediately, Mrs. Haruno's eyes blinked open and she hastily sat up to see who her visitor was. As she rubbed her eyes and squinted, Sakura briefly took in the sight before her.

At first glance it was not difficult to decipher the older Haruno's characteristics. Her mother was stout, middle aged woman who desired to be known far and wide. Because she was very tidy, practical, and controlling, Sakura was surprised to see her lying on the couch in such a position. Without her daughter and her husband, it seemed as if the mother of the family had let herself go. Nonetheless, as soon the elder woman brushed herself off, wrinkled her nose at a mess around her, and ran her fingers through her tousled maroon tinted hair, Sakura knew that the woman who raised her would _never_ let herself go.

"Sakura? Is that you?" her mother shrieked, and before her daughter could answer, she clasped Sakura's hands in hers. "Oh, I'm so glad you could visit! How is everything? At the hospital, I mean. I were complaining about it so much last time you bothered to visit!" She stood up, eagerly looking towards the kitchen. "You know what? I will cook some of that soup you love while you tell me all about it."

"Mom." Sakura put her hand on her mother's shoulder, forcing her back down on the couch. The Haruno mother was confused, but the smile that was plastered on her face lingered. Surprised that her mother was not angry at her daughter's controlling action, Sakura took the liberty of sitting down next to her.

"Do you know about me and Sasuke-kun?" Sakura warily started, "How we're really good friends?"

Her mother frowned, putting a finger to her lips to recount the memories. He had seen Mrs. Haruno a couple of times in his life, but he had usually either tuned her out or ignored her. Or both. If she and her daughter were arguing, mentioning Sasuke would only add fuel to the fire. Fortunately, that was not the case today. Yet.

"Yes. He's the one who always made you cry, left and betrayed the village, and still managed to earn your love, right?" the senior woman remarked, as Sakura released a long, labored sigh. "I don't think I'll ever forget him."

"We've become closer," Sakura started, choosing her words carefully. She didn't want her mother flipping out, after all. "I still love him, and mom, he's not as bad as you think."

"Then why haven't you let me meet him?"

"Mother." Sakura rubbed her temples. "You're getting away from my point. Besides, he doesn't like visiting people's houses or small talk.

"We were talking today," she continued hoping to cut to the chase as quickly as possible, "…and…well…we both decided that we want to get married."

For a long moment mother gaped at daughter, and the former quickly shook her head.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," she muttered, volume heightening as if she were chastising a young child. She hastily stood up, face now in her hands. "Sakura! How irresponsible can you be? You're only 20, and he's so unstable…"

Sakura frowned and sucked her teeth. "I'm a big girl, mom! You mean to tell me that I can become a ninja, constantly put my life on the line and have my own apartment, but I can't marry who I want?"

"That's another thing," her mother added, exasperated. She was speaking through the cracks between her fingers--a bad, bad sign. "You're living alone in that apartment. "Who knows that that will lead to…what it could have already led to! And why didn't he ask my permission?!"

"We haven't done anything!" Sakura protested, and she too stood up. Although she and her mother were not seeing eye-to-eye, she wanted to be at least on the eye level of her mother during this conflict.

"I told him yes," Sakura softly said, breaking the tension, "And I meant it. I don't want to hurt you…but I really want to be with him."

Her mother lowered her hands from her face and studied her daughter's own visage. "This is ridiculous," she muttered. "How long has it been?"

"Seven years," Sakura told her.

"Hmph. That's amazing."

While her mother seemed slightly assuaged, Sakura clasped her hands in front of her. "Please, let me make this decision on my own. I'm not trying to be a little girl who wants to play house."

Her mother sighed, and her hard expression finally completely softened. "You have grown, haven't you?" she said, as her daughter vigorously nodded. Mother suddenly embraced daughter, and it was then when Sakura realized how much her mother's opinion meant to her.

"Just be smart out this," her mother harshly whispered. "I don't want to clean up after you!"

oOo

"Already making preparations for the wedding?"

Sasuke stopped walking and turned around to meet the owner of the voice. He knew someone was near, but he wasn't one to initiate conversations. He shoved his free hand into his pocket and gave a typical, nonchalant answer.

"No. Groceries…Sakura told you?"

"Actually, a little birdie told me."

Sasuke looked up at a nearby tree branch and scowled at his old sensei's smiling face. He was holding a book, the same one that he happened to read over and over again. Anyone could tell that aging had been good to him, even if he did wear a mask all the time.

"He also told me that it wasn't a very good proposal, but I want to know if that's really true."

"I asked and she said yes," Sasuke curtly told him. "What more do you need to know?"

"That doesn't sound very romantic."

"Hn."

"So you've finally decided to reach the next chapter in your life?" Kakashi asked, while turning a page in his novel. He didn't look interested in Sasuke's response at all as he was too engrossed in his novel, but Sasuke was sure Kakashi would listen to whatever he said anyway.

"Tch. I started the next chapter when Itachi was slain."

Kakashi gave him a skeptical glance.

"I just put off the offer for too long," Sasuke continued.

"You're not that old," Kakashi pointed out. "So I'm surprised you've fallen in love. I never had the chance for that."

"Everyone you love is dead. You told me. Now," Sasuke slowly began in a commanding tone, "Make yourself useful and tell me where Naruto is."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at the sudden change of topic and acquiesced. "Suna. He left this morning on a C-rank mission and he'll be back in a week or so." It was now Sasuke's turn to cock his brow. Although he perceived Naruto to be an idiot most of the time, he knew his friend should have been taking higher ranking missions.

"He needed the quick cash," Kakashi clarified. "You know how he works."

"Aa." Telling Naruto about his and Sakura's engagement would have to wait.

"So do you really love her?" Kakashi asked the younger man, swaying back into their previous conversation. Sasuke had started to leave but stopped once again when he heard Kakashi's question. He didn't know why; it was as if he was opening a gate for trouble.

"Do you think you're ready for this?" Kakashi continued.

The Uchiha's brow furrowed and after a moment of contemplation he spoke. "I'm ready for this."

He gave Kakashi a quick nod, signaling that he was down with their conversation. Kakashi watched him leave, shook his head, and read the book for a more romantic tale, even if it was perverted.

Sasuke resumed walking towards his apartment and tried not to slam his bag of groceries on a table. Yes, he was ready. He hated to be doubted and he hated people interfering in his life. If he wanted to get married so what? If he didn't love Sakura after all...

Sasuke sucked his teeth and scanned at what was before him. Dusty corners, piles of unused items, and empty places at the table. There were rooms that had not been occupied in years, and untouched cabinets full of china.

Unconsciously, he swiped a rag from the bathroom and proceeded to vigorously wipe excess dust from a corner. Yes, he was ready, and if he was going to get married and start a new life he at least needed a decent looking home.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is a very 'quiet' chapter IMO, but I wanted to dedicate a chapter what the parental figures would say to the marriage. So I'm sorry for the slow and boring and the lack of SasuSaku here (but come_ on! _that's what other chapters are for!). If anyone's wondering, the story starts to really pick up during chapter four because…well…you'll see. XP 


	3. The One and Only

**Author's Note:** Whoot! I'm on a roll. I'm kind of trying to finish this story before May, so that's why I'm updating faster. Also, it just felt right to post this chapter right before Valentine's Day (so to the people who I told I would post in on the 14th…surprise!) Thanks for reviews!

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Three**

**.: The One and Only :.**

Sasuke gave a short cough as he sat on her windowsill, waiting. Really, he didn't think it was possible for someone to sleep so much. He'd call it laziness, but Sakura would argue that she deserved the prolonged nap after spending the past week arguing with her mother about wedding plans.

Sasuke never really understood why he showed up at her home so early in the morning when he knew she would probably be sleeping for a couple of more hours. He knew it was a waste of time, but part of him thought watching Sakura sleep was entertaining. She smiled a lot in her sleep, often laughing manically as a result. Those few times she frowned she would make a prolonged hissing sound, which was ironic because she hated snakes and anything else that made such a noise.

Despite the fact that he wanted to entertain himself, Sasuke decided to wake her up. He had a long day planned for the both of them. With care, Sasuke climbed inside her room and observed the new world around him. Sakura had a plethora of aged stuffed animals and books scattered on the floor. The walls were covered with both pictures of herself and of her friends. There were more books scattered near the closet and all looked too abused for their own good.

Sasuke sat on the edge of her bed and lifted Sakura so she was in a sitting position. It was annoying at how heavy her pajamas made her, but the soft texture of her pajamas and of her skin made up for it. Sakura was someone who could be deadly in battle, but could be so endearing at times that it could make someone think twice about hurting her. Sasuke hated that about her, and it was even worse when she cried. He had a problem with that when they were younger, and it always felt awkward to insult her one minute and feel compelled to say something nice a few moments later.

Sasuke roughly brushed Sakura's hair from her eyes and proceeded to call her name.

"Sakura."

No answer.

He shook her. "Sakura."

She whimpered.

"_Sakura." _

The young woman opened her eyes and simultaneously gasped at the vexed male before her. Her first question was why exactly he was in her room, but she was just as concerned about what she was wearing. Pink fuzzy pajamas.

And she told him she hated the color pink.

She frowned and crossed her arms. That way, she could at least attempt to cover her shock. It was bad that even though she was a jounin she couldn't sense Sasuke's presence. "I heard you the first time," she told him.

"Don't give me that."

"Fine," she growled. "The second time."

Sasuke abruptly stood up and walked towards her closet (while almost stumbling over one of the books, to Sakura's delight). He grabbed some of Sakura's familiar looking clothes from it and threw them towards her.

"Get dressed. We're going shopping."

"You?" Sakura asked, scrambling out of bed. "…going shopping?" She laughed, and Sasuke ignored her while he searched for her shoes.

"What for?" she inquired.

Sasuke didn't answer, and Sakura glowered. "Well, can you at least leave my room and let me get dressed?"

Sasuke stopped his search and gave a perplexed stare in Sakura's direction. He gave a questioning frown. "…Why?"

'_Why?'_ Sakura gaped at him. _'Maybe because I'm going to be half naked with nothing but my polka dot undies on, that's why!'_ If he wasn't her fiancé, she would have called him a pervert.

"I guess it makes sense," she contemplated out loud, trying to understand Sasuke's question. Unfortunately for her, she didn't stop there. Inner Sakura seemed to have wakened during the moment, so Sakura proceeded to do what she did best—rambling about nothing and embarrassing herself in front of Sasuke.

"Well, since we're getting married, we're going to see each other like this pretty much everyday…so why does it matter now? I mean, you'll see me in my underwear…and I'll see you in yours. Or boxers…if you wear them…y'know…because even though you seem like the type to wear briefs, I could be wrong…Oh, never mind. You get the point, don't you?"

Sasuke gave an appalled look towards his fiancé. They started at each other in silence, and the speechless Uchiha quickly looked away. He then muttered something under his breath and left the room.

'_Well, at least he left,'_ Inner Sakura said, as Sakura smacked her forehead.

Sakura met Sasuke outside after she got ready, and he seemed to have recovered despite the slight flush he got when she was in sight.

He revealed that he needed to go shopping because he needed 'stuff' for the Uchiha Compound. 'Stuff,' as in ordering new beds, tables, and a few unnecessary things.

And he wanted her help.

They went to his home to do a little work, and upon arriving Sakura immediately noticed the change in his apartment.

"It looks so different," she said, as she meandered through the home. "…and new! Did you do something to it lately?"

"Why would I do something to my house?" Sasuke snapped.

Sakura smiled and shrugged. After measuring out the length of old tables for their future replacements. He told her they were going to a cheap store, which was most definitely not in Konoha, to order his supplies.

They task was to be completed in a nearby village before evening, but it was hard as every time Sakura suggested getting something Sasuke would say it was too elaborate or too expensive. He just wanted the same plain tan furniture that looked sturdy.

After many failed attempts to get livelier looking furniture, Sakura didn't say much. Sasuke could tell she was upset by the disgruntled expression on her face and he nudged her when they walked out of a store.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing."

"Then suck in your bottom lip."

Sakura scowled. "Why did you bring me along if you're not going to let me choose anything?" she questioned him, pulling on his arm.

"You will get to choose some things."

"What _things_?!"

Sasuke opened the door to the next shop, allowing Sakura to go in before him. She ceased glowering at him when she noticed the assortment of décor before her.

Sasuke cleared his through. "I thought you would like picking useless decorations for the house other than furniture. Because…since you'll be living there with me…"

"It needs to have a little of me in it?" Sakura finished. "I get it." She smiled.

_Finally_, that place was going to look like a home. Sakura remembered taking trips to the compound after Sasuke's departure, and wondering if it would ever look happy again. Although he was gone, she couldn't help but wish she was the one to fix up the house and make it look good again. For his sake.

And now, her wish was coming true.

"Sasuke-kun," she said to the apprehensive Uchiha as they walked towards paints. "I promise we won't have pink walls."

oOo

Sasuke thought lunch was necessary before heading home, so they chose a spot in a small unknown restaurant to eat. Sasuke slowly ate his meal, thinking, when Sakura called him.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"What is it?"

Sakura played with her napkin and folded the corners, while biting her lip. She cleared her throat. "What made you…suddenly ask that day?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow as he lowered a dumpling that he was about to devour. "Why are you asking now?"

"Never had the chance to ask," Sakura croaked. "It's…been a busy week."

"It was just the right time," Sasuke told her.

"That's it?"

"Yeah." Sasuke faltered. "Uh…" he then reached into his pocket and Sakura leaned over the table, trying to see what he was trying to retrieve. Her eyes widened as he pulled out a wedding band.

"While you were complaining in the stores, I forgot to give it to you." he explained. He placed it in her hand. "You can wear it for now, but with all the people in Konoha..."

"I know," Sakura sighed. She and Sasuke were attempting to keep their wedding plans under wraps, even in such a small village like Konoha. Sasuke didn't want their wedding to be some kind of circus where everyone would come and watch the last Uchiha get married, and Sakura had no problem with that.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. "Thank you." Sakura smiled at the unforeseen event, as it reminded her that _sometimes_, Sasuke could be really sweet. Strange and sudden at some times, but sweet. She leaned in to kiss him, but jerked back when she had a thought. "Oh! My mother told me to order my kimono today. At that one shop back home…"

Sasuke gave an annoyed sigh. "I'm going home."

"You can come if you want," Sakura suggested. She couldn't tell if he was upset about not getting to kiss her or just annoyed that he would have to shop some more. Sadly, she had a feeling it was the latter.

"No."

"But I had to run around with you all day!"

"Fine." Sasuke rubbed his temples. "Fine."

The trip wasn't as painful as he thought it would be, but Sasuke complained as much as Sakura did earlier in the day. Sakura filled out a form and gave it to the manager, stating her size and colors she wanted.

"A red and white kimono," the manager said monotonously while observing Sakura's current outfit. "I would have _never_ guessed you would pick those colors. Getting married?"

"No…it's for my sister," Sakura unsuccessfully fibbed. The manager rolled her eyes as she watched the couple leave the shop.

"Hey, I'm sorry I dragged you here like this," Sakura said as they walked out of the store. "At least we're done for the day. It's not late, so when we go back home do you want to—"

"Hey!"

They both turned around to find the source of the shout. It was Naruto, boisterous and bold as ever, running to meet his friends. His orange jacket was tied around his waist, and the fact that he had money in his hand made it obvious that he had just gotten his pay from his client.

"You're back!" Sakura exclaimed, hugging him. "How was the mission?"

"Heh! It was too boring for my skill…but it was worth it!" he told her, showing the cash in his hand. "I've got more than enough…Sakura-chan, Sasuke, do you two want to go out for ramen?"

"Hn," Sasuke responded to his nickname. He and Sakura briefly glanced at each other.

"We just ate," Sakura informed him. "But you go on ahead …we'll meet you at Ichiraku."

"Okay, but don't take your time!" Waving as he spun around, Naruto went along. Sakura and Sasuke watched him disappear from sight.

"I'm planning on telling Naruto a little later," Sasuke informed her.

Sakura huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Eh? I was going to tell him! He'd probably think you were kidding. Besides, he'd take me more seriously," she finished with a wave of her hand.

"Tch." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He never thought he'd see the day when he and Sakura argued over who was closer to Naruto. "He's a moron, but he's my friend," Sasuke admitted. Naruto was his best one, in fact. "It wouldn't be right for a girl, to tell another male that she was getting married."

"What? Sasuke-kun!"

"Fine," Sasuke seethed. "We'll both tell him at Ichiraku."

Sakura nodded, and sighed. She bit her lip and looked down. When Sasuke gave her a questioning look she spoke. "That's…so soon."

"We'll be fine," he told her, taking her hand. "We should go before Naruto's eaten all the food he's supposed to be treating us."

Despite Sasuke's words, Naruto had self-control. He had devoured most his bowl and was eagerly looking towards the entrance to the stand when he saw his friends arrive.

"Are you trying to torture me?" Naruto asked, squinting his eyes. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, sorry," Sakura mumbled. She sat in the chair next to him while Sasuke sat on Sakura's other side. They both turned to face him.

"What?" Naruto asked, annoyed.

"We need to tell you something," Sasuke said.

Sakura checked to see if Ayame and her father were out of hearing and finally spoke. "Naruto, we wanted you to be the first person (_'Well, besides my mother and apparently Kakashi,'_ she thought) to know this because you're the most important person in our lives. We hope it's not abrupt or anything…it's just that…well…we're..."

"We're getting married," Sasuke finished.

Naruto choked on a stray noodle, and once he was done coughing his friends could make out his dumbfounded expression. He let his chopsticks clatter in his bowl as his eyes widened. "Woah! Heh…so…i—its finally come to this!"

"Congratulations," he added, blushing. "I didn't think Sasuke had the courage to ask…the coward!"

"Don't start," Sasuke threatened, and he smirked.

"When's the wedding?" Naruto asked. He leaned forward and his hands were on his knees. "Soon?"

"It's in late spring or early summer," Sakura told him. "We haven't decided yet."

"But don't go around telling all of Konohgakure," Sasuke threatened him. "The village is full of gossiping fools."

"OK, OK!" Naruto shouted. Apparently his plans were foiled. He opened his mouth the say more but ceased when he saw a chuunin enter the stand.

"A message for Haruno Sakura," he said, handing her a folded slip of paper. Perplexed, Sakura opened the note and read it to herself. Once the chuunin was out of hearing, she looked at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Tsunade wants me to go on an investigation mission."

"Wha…?" Naruto asked. "Doesn't she know you just got engaged?!"

Sakura flushed. "No…not yet." She hadn't planned to tell her teacher anytime soon either. "Besides, we just told you you're one of the first to know!"

"Are you sure you want to go?" Naruto asked. "You can always refuse the mission…or me and Sasuke can force her to—"

"That's okay," Sakura said, looking back at the message. "It seems serious, and they need an experienced medic-nin."

"You need to go meet the Hokage now," Sasuke told her, looking at the note over her shoulder. "It is urgent."

"I'm sure you will handle it," Naruto added, observing the look of apprehension on Sakura's face. "We'll be waiting for you after you're done kicking butt!"

Sakura jumped from her seat and turned to kiss Sasuke on the cheek. She could have been imagining things, but a worried crease formed in his forehead.

"Be careful," he told her. "I'll be at my apartment when you return."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Next chapter is obviously the mission. Just a thing I forgot to mention…this story will have manga spoilers. Major manga spoilers. So if you're one of those anime only fans who are gung-ho about being spoiler free, sorry I didn't mention that earlier. Please review too! I mean, I have 30 story alerts. XD 


	4. Quite Inconvenient

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciated them. The last chapter got me well over 1000 hits and now I have 40 story alerts. At least I know people are reading this. :) Also, if you reviewed and I didn't review in return, I'm planning to get to it on the weekend. Sorry for all typos.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Four**

**.: Quite Inconvenient :.**

Because it took a while for Sakura to pick up her weapons and supplies from her home, she was not surprised to see that the ninjas she would accompany were already at Tsunade's office. Her companions for the mission were Neji and Tenten, and the medic-nin gave a sigh of relief as she was glad they were both people she was familiar with.

"So you're finally here Sakura." Tsunade smiled. "It's been a long time you've been on a mission, so listen carefully. All three of you," she added, looking around the room.

"A few of our ninjas have come home injured from a simple mission by the border of fire country. They say a strange man went berserk and proceeded to attack for no reason. He might still be there, and for the safety of our village, I'm asking you to all check it out over there. If he's there and viscous, by all means…fight."

"Sakura, there might still be some injured people, so I need you to be there just in case. Heal their wounds and try to get more information. If everything goes well, this won't take long."

"We'll do our best," Neji told her, and Sakura and Tenten agreed.

It was a little after they walked out of the Hokage's office when Sakura spoke.

"Where's Lee?" She asked, looking around as if he would pop out of nowhere. "I hope I'm not replacing him or anything…"

"He was on the mission in Suna the other day," Tenten told her, "so he just came home, like Naruto."

'_So I guess all of the passionate people went on that boring mission,'_ Sakura thought. _'No wonder they got the job done so fast…'_

Still, she was disappointed that Lee couldn't come. Out of all of the members in team Gai, Lee was the one she was closest to. He was so infatuated with her that he had promised to protect her until he died, and he lived up to that promise during the chunnin exams. He was probably the sweetest person she had ever met, and he would always be able to relieve tension.

Despite the lack of Konoha's Green Beast, she figured that it was a good thing that she was placed with Neji and Tenten. They were a great pair, and she didn't only mean that in terms of teamwork. She just knew she would feel like a third wheel on a mission with them. Although she couldn't really complain; that was probably how Naruto felt at times when being on a team with her and Sasuke.

"We're at the forest," Neji announced, disrupting her thoughts. "Going this way will get us there faster."

They sped through the forest, bouncing from tree limb to tree limb. Neji was the fastest while Tenten and Sakura took their time. Tenten didn't seem to mind, so Sakura decided she wouldn't mind either.

It seemed like only a few minutes later when they stopped to rest. They were to set up camp for the night and depart again in the morning. Sakura unconsciously counted the number of blankets Tenten pulled out of her backpack, hoping there were three for three people, not two…

Once the fire was up, all three ninjas sat around it and ate fish Tenten had caught and provided. They were absorbed in their thoughts when Tenten spoke.

"By the way Sakura, I wanted to tell you congratulations."

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. She swallowed a lump in her throat, scanning her memory to see if she had ever mentioned her engagement to Sasuke to Neji and Tenten.

"...for what?" she finally asked.

"For being picked as the best medic nin!" Tenten piped up.

"They didn't even have a hard time choosing what med-nin was suitable for the mission," Neji clarified. "You're really in high ranks now."

"Oh." Sakura smiled, relieved. It was her turn to speak while trying not to fall into the subject of her marriage.

"So…how have you two been?"

"Good, good," Tenten muttered, blushing. "We visited Tea Country a couple weeks back."

"'We'? As in...?"

"Neji and I."

Neji turned from the fire, trying and failing to study a map. "We should rest," he finally spoke.

"Good idea!" Sakura unconsciously exclaimed. Ignoring the strange looks from Neji and Tenten, she picked up a blanket (and sighed in relief when she saw there were in fact, three available).

oOo

Sakura woke up to see Tenten asleep on Neji's shoulder, while Neji leaned against a tree. Sakura mentally kicked herself. They were doing shifts, and she lazily slept the whole night!

"Morning, Sakura," Neji greeted. He nudged Tenten.

Tenten woke up, alarmed, and grabbed for a kunai. She looked at the other two ninjas and blushed. Sakura resisted the urge to giggle.

"So we're leaving now?" Tenten asked Neji.

"Yeah."

Once all of their supplies were put away, they set off again. It was as quiet as the first part of their journey, and it was just as quick when they had to stop. Sakura knew they couldn't be resting again, as all three ninjas had more energy than that.

"There's something in the distance," Neji told them.

"Can you see what's over there first?" Sakura asked while Neji simultaneously yelled, "Byakugan!"

"There's a large man over there," he informed them. "It could be one of our men or not."

They traveled through the trees some more and this time it felt like an eternity. The forest was eerily silent, and when they arrived at their destination they realized why.

All of the animals had cleared away, and there was a large man leaning against a tree, unconscious. They cautiously walked towards the man, Neji in front.

"I'll check him," Sakura quickly said, breaking the silence. She rushed to his side.

Although large, the man was very pale. Upon seeing his arm Sakura quickly took out bandages from her pouch and wrapped his arm. She then proceeded to heal his arm with chakra.

"This is the enemy," Tenten noted after a moment.

"I know."

When Sakura was done, she studied his face. "You know," she said to Neji and Tenten. "He's familiar."

Neji raised his eyebrow and kneeled down next to his comrade. Tenten followed suit. "You know him from somewhere?" he asked.

Sakrua nodded while straining to remember where exactly she had seen this man. It was a face that she had briefly encountered in the not too distant past. He reminded her of a time when she felt great determination and anticipation.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered.

"What?" Tenten asked. She quickly turned to look at Sakura.

"He was with Sasuke-kun," she clarified, closing her eyes. "He had a team the second time we reunited in Oto. There was a girl and smaller boy...and there was him," she finished, referring to the unconscious man.

"What's he like?" Neji asked. "Maybe we can give some information to the Hokage."

"I don't know anything about him," Sakura whispered. "Only that he is Sasuke-kun's friend."

"Maybe we should ask him," Neji grudgingly suggested. Sakura knew he was not too keen on the idea as she watched his brow furrow.

Sakura studied the enemy some more. He was quite large, but he looked so hurt, so strained. She wondered what could have set him off, what made such a gentle looking person hurt those ninjas. "He's Sasuke-kun's comrade...and he's hurt," She sighed. She knew what to do.

"We should," she told them. "But we wait to tell Tsunade-sama."

"What!" Tenten exclaimed. "How are we supposed to do that? She's the Hokage!"

"I know..." Sakura said. "…but since he's affiliated with Sasuke-kun...can we please just keep this under wraps? I don't want…I don't want her getting angry at him for this."

"Besides," Sakura sheepishly continued. "She said to take care of the injured people…"

Her teammates looked hesitant, and Neji sighed. "I don't know Sakura. How are we going to get him to Konoha without people noticing? What are we going to do with him?"

"I'll take care of it," she said. "Tenten, you tell the Hokage that we found no one...for now. Tell her that Neji and I are still reviewing the area to be on the safe side. If anyone is nearby when we get to Konoha, I'll cast a genjutsu so it looks like no one is entering through the gates when we bring him in."

"A simple genjutsu?" Neji asked.

"Yes. And not to brag," Sakura told him, "but I'm pretty good at genjutsu. If everything goes well, by early morning we'll be back home." By the looks on Neji and Tenten's faces, Sakura was sure her plan would make up for her sleeping while they worked.

Tenten nodded, with a hint of apprehension on her visage. She did not seem too sure about leaving Sakura alone with Neji, but when Neji gave her a silent acknowledgement that everything would be all right, she gave in. Sakura smiled, as she was too familiar with silent exchanges.

After Tenten's departure, Sakura and Neji did not waste time to make up camp. Neji made a tent with one of the blankets and dragged the man inside of it. Sakura noticed the lack of care Neji used with the ninja and felt a twinge of anxiety. She hoped his animosity towards the Sound ninja wouldn't affect the plan.

Like the previous night, Neji made a fire and he and Sakura sat down by it. Sakura, who was proud of her plan of action, took the initiative and spoke.

"You're doing this for the Uchiha?" he asked, solemnly.

"I'm doing this for him, and this other ninja. I don't see what's so bad about helping either of them."

"It's not that simple…" Neji started. He stared into the fire and his eyes narrowed. "Where your alliance lies is unclear. You're starting to care more about your lover and his friends over your own village."

"Sakura…" he resumed before she could reply. "I know you've been like this since you've became a ninja, but trying to sneak him in our village could get us in so much trouble."

"It's a bit too late for that," Sakura snapped, as she gestured to the area around them. "We're kind of in the middle of nowhere with an Oto nin."

"This man hurt_our_ men. It's not respectable—"

"We don't know if he meant it!" Sakura shouted. Her fists were now balled and Neji gave a furtive glance towards her hands. "I trust rescuing him because I trust Sasuke-kun. And I think it's respectable of _both_ of them that they are comrades, even if they are from different villages."

Neji bowed his head and gave a sigh.

"Everything will be fine Neji," Sakura whispered. "Nothing will scar your honor."

oOo

It was early in the morning when Neji woke Sakura up. Sakura looked around after he shook her awake. It was earlier than they had planned to awake. She gave a questioning glance towards Neji.

"Some Konoha ninjas are coming," he informed her. "They are elite chuunin."

She ran to his side as he looked into the distance. Part of her envied Neji's power of the byakugan, but was grateful for it at the same time. She didn't know what she would do without him at a time like this.

"The Hokage must have sent them," Neji speculated.

"Why?" Sakura asked. She knew Tenten wouldn't rat them out, and she thought Tsunade trusted the team enough.

"I think they're reinforcements," Neji quickly said. "It's a good thing, when you don't have a ninja from Otogakure with you of course." He pulled down the tent and beckoned towards Sakura. "We're going another way home. Can you help me carry him?"

"Yes," Sakura said, desperately hoping that the man would not awaken during the chaos. She grabbed his arms while Neji grabbed his legs. Sakura smirked at the surprise on Neji's face when he noticed she could handle just about as much weight as he.

"The Hokage's student," she bragged. "It's to be expected."

Walking fast with the load was a burden, but after many scrapes and running into trees, each could careless how heavy the person was. Neji speculated that the team had turned towards home after finding nothing, but luckily for him and Sakura they were almost at the gates. When they reached their destination, Neji and Sakura exhaled in unison as they set the man down.

"They'll be here soon," Neji said, as Sakura cast a genjutsu.

"We should take him to my apartment," Sakura said as Neji gave her an appalled stare. She pouted when he looked unwilling. It seemed to always work with Sasuke. "Please?"

Neji grudgingly did his part and it was a second after they set the man on Sakura's couch that he spoke.

"You owe us," Neji muttered. "Big time."

Sakura smiled, ignoring his tone. "Thanks Neji. And tell Hinata that Naruto's back, okay? I mean, if he hasn't already presented himself to her yet."

Neji nodded. "Good luck."

Sakura watched him depart and sighed as she looked at the figure on her couch. Hopefully Neji would get back to Tsunade before the chuunin did and tell her that he and Sakura were back, safe and sound. If Sakura was lucky, Tsunade would not check up on her.

Sakura groaned as she knew what she had to do next. Hands shaking, she immediately picked up her phone and dialed Sasuke's number.

"Sasuke-kun? It's me. Can you come here for a second? We have an emergency."

* * *

**Author's Note:**...and this is where the story starts to pick up. Everyone should know who our mystery man is, and if not…go read the manga. He's going to be a major character here. What's funny in this chapter is that there seems to be a lot of NejiTen, but I don't even like that pairing. I guess the hints just came naturally. Now, please review! 


	5. Curious Comrades

**Author's Note:** Someone asked about Suigetsu and Karin. What happened to them is revealed in this chapter. It also may seem like I'm deviating from the summary, but believe me...I'm not. Thanks for reviews and sorry for all typos.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Five**

**.: Curious Comrades :.**

It was only natural that Sasuke was able to arrive at Sakura's apartment in record time, so Sakura had her front door prepared and wide open as he hastily walked in.

"Are you all right?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders. His expression was a mix of concern and trepidation. Without wasting time, he scanned the room before him.

Sakura shrugged. "Other than the fact that there's a man lying on my couch, I'm oka—"

The Uchiha zoomed past Sakura into her living room. She followed him into the adjacent room and watched his reaction form as he saw the figure on her couch. The kunoichi tried to take in his expression, expecting the usual nonchalant look he was well known for, but she ended up surprised to see that Sasuke was clearly baffled.

Sasuke gave a swiftly looked at Sakura. "Where did you find him?" he demanded.

"He was by the border," Sakura cautiously told him. "Tsunade-sama said he had hurt some of our nin around there, so my team and I checked it out. And he was hurt."

Sasuke's brow furrowed at her last comment and he concentrated on the man before him.

"Juugo," he muttered.

Sakura leaned closer to Sasuke upon hearing his voice. "What?"

"His name is Juugo."

"I've seen him before."

"I know."

Sasuke bent over and lifted up the large man's bandaged arm. He studied the bandage for a prolonged length of time, looking for areas with soaked blood. When he was done with his evaluation, he spoke. "So you healed him?"

"Yes," Sakura confirmed. "It was the only thing I could do for him."

Sasuke's visage was unclear for a moment, but he eventually nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she responded, nodding in return. Sakura had learned over the years that when it came to Sasuke's comrades, he wanted to always make sure they were safe. No matter how annoying, stupid, and interfering they were. Sakura tentatively put her arm around Sasuke's waist and placed her hand on his chest. When she put her head on his shoulder, Sasuke tensed. Shortly afterwards she could feel his face in her hair.

"He'll be fine," Sakura softly whispered. "I used a lot of chakra on him for healing, and the wound wasn't cut very deep, thank Kami."

They stayed in that position for a moment and observed the unconscious figure. To Sakura, he was clearly out cold. His breathing could barely be heard and he looked rather peaceful for being far from home and in a strange woman's apartment. Most of all, she was just glad he wasn't dead. If Juugo died while in her possession, she would never be able to forgive her self. She didn't want to think about Sasuke's reaction.

To break the silence, Sakura asked what was plaguing her for the past few hours.

"What do you think set him off?"

She felt Sasuke shrug. "He can't really control it."

She gave him a curious glance; although she had a feeling such a gentle looking person wouldn't really be able to control hurting people. "What do you mean?"

"Sakura…" Sasuke lifted up his hand to rub his temples. He wrenched himself from Sakura's arms and sat on the arm of the couch. Sakura stayed quiet, anticipating what he was about to tell her.

"At times…he can be dangerous. He's just that way."

"How can someone be 'just that way'?" Sakura asked him, exasperated. "Was he just born destructive or something?"

Sasuke ignored her questions. "You're just lucky you lasted all of this time without him waking up and hurting you."

"It's that bad?" Sakura inquired, casting another glance at Juugo. He didn't seem like a normal human, and suddenly it all became clear to her. The way Juugo was had to be Orochimaru's doing. It was always Orochimaru's doing. And the sanin would be plaguing people long after his death. Sakura swallowed and did not mention her new insight to Sasuke. He probably already knew that she had figured it out anyway. "Well," she began, trying to find a sliver lining, "I didn't tell the Hokage about him."

"Good."

"Only Neji and Tenten know…but they won't tell."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the mention of others knowing, but he stayed silent.

"Sasuke…" Sakura spoke again, distracting him. "When I left…how else did Naruto react to the news?"

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Better than I thought," he said. "Better than you thought."

Sakura's exhaled at the good news. She was afraid of Naruto's reaction, because although Naruto had stopped pursuing her years ago, they were a trio. A trio, with two of the members marrying each other. They may have had a replacement for Sasuke, and Naruto could eventually get married himself, but somehow they would still be a trio. That's just the way they were.

"We talked a little," Sasuke said, and to Sakura's surprise, he smirked. "He's one insightful idiot."

"So it went that well?" Sakura asked, folding her arms. Well for them, of course. What Sasuke and Naruto considered 'well' wasn't always good…

"Aa."

Sasuke immediately stood up and did not hesitate to attempt to pull Juugo up. "I'll take him to my apartment," he said. "It's too dangerous for him to stay here." Sakura did not speak as she watched him lift up the man and throw his arm over his shoulder. She was surprised that Sasuke didn't fall over, as he was much smaller than Juugo.

"Continue to keep this from the Hokage," Sasuke told her. "You can come over later today, and we'll figure something out."

"Okay," Sakura softly said, while biting her lip. "Be careful, all right?" If she had to be careful around Juugo, he would have to as well.

"I won't have any trouble," Sasuke reassured her over his shoulder. "Trust me."

oOo

Upon returning to his apartment, Sasuke set Juugo on his bed. He decided that after a few moments to himself he would wake his comrade up. Juugo was no problem for Sasuke at the moment and Sasuke had other things on his mind after all. He sat down at his kitchen table and nibbled on a tomato.

Although he would never admit it, he was initially worried about Naruto's reaction as well. He figured Naruto would freak out about the engagement the moment Sakura left. However, it was far from what Sasuke expected. There was an awkward silence in the ramen stand, and they ended up having their first mature conversation in years. Ironically, such conversations came when Sakura wasn't around and Sasuke was glad of that, as those moments were too awkward and uncharacteristic for both of them. But although awkward and uncharacteristic, Sasuke was still fond of the memory.

_It was Naruto who spoke first. Since Teuchi and Ayame were still not present and the rest of the stand was still empty, he had taken the liberty of continuing the conversation. _

"_So you're getting married, huh?"_

_Sasuke grunted. "Yeah."_

_They looked at each other for a moment, and Naruto gave a small smile. To Sasuke's annoyance, he played with his chopsticks for a moment and let them clatter to the bowl. _

"_I expected this a while back…" he began as he reflected. "It was a long time ago, even before you left Konoha. My mind is a little fuzzy, but I can remember how Sakura-chan visited you everyday while you were in the hospital. When Tsunade baa-chan healed you, she was finally happy. Heh. And when she hugged you, you were…different. You didn't glare at her or push her off. You didn't insult her. I was a little disappointed, because your bad actions towards Sakura-chan always gave me hope. But that day…you were not the Sasuke I know!"_

"_Hn." Sasuke's face contorted. _

"_You remember, don't you? And that wasn't the only thing either. For a while there…you two were always together. I didn't know which was worse…Sakura-chan spending time with you or you spending time with Sakura-chan. And it's not the same thing! You were both my best friends…" he trailed off. "Tch. It made me jealous of both of you."_

"_Heh." Sasuke closed his eyes and smiled. "So you only remember the useless stuff?"_

_Naruto frowned. "Eh?"_

_Sasuke smirked. "You don't remember how all of us would go on those worthless missions with Kakashi?"_

"_Heh! I remember them more than you do teme!"_

"_Hn. And I guess you don't remember forcing us to eat at this ramen stand or having to meet at that bridge everyday either. Like the idiot you are, the only thing you remember is being jealous of your two friends? How pathetic."_

"_Way to miss my point!" Naruto growled while lifting up his hands and slamming them on the counter._

_Sasuke smirked. "You should be talking, moron."_

_Naruto glared at Sasuke. "I don't understand why she would want to marry such a loser like you!"_

"_Moron. Did you even think about what I just said?"_

"_No, because you called me a moron twice. And an idiot!"_

"_Because you are an idiot, idiot."_

"_What are you two arguing about?" Teuchi asked as he reappeared. _

"_Hunh! I'm leaving," Naruto told him and he stomped out of the stand._

Ironically enough, that was what 'going well' for him and Naruto was. If Sakura ever find out how Naruto and Sasuke really acted, they could always defend themselves by pointing out that how they fought with words, not jutsus.

Sakura. Sasuke folded his hands in front of his face. How was he ever going to explain to her about Juugo's condition? He knew exactly what would happen when the truth would be revealed. She would because worried and stressed, as Juugo's experience with the cursed seal was worse than her fiancé's. He didn't want to expose to her that kind of danger again, and he didn't care if she was a jounin who surpassed their drunk and lazy hokage.

She was not going to get hurt.

He made up his mind about it years before, even when he barely knew her. It was hard, because Sakura was prone to doing foolish things. This ranged from running towards someone using the cursed seal to trying to stop a fight between him and Naruto. He heard from Naruto that Sakura had run towards four tails and Sasuke decided that Sakura was definitely sick in the mind.

Despite that, he had to admit she was still a wonderful woman. Admit only to his self, of course. He could never find the right words to tell her that even though he thought she acted silly at times, he still appreciated her. He had thanked her once, but even that never seemed enough. He didn't want to get married to her without ever telling her what he really felt and time was running out. For the past three years, every time they were alone and he had his chance, he would waste it. He would insult her to cover up his feelings or change the subject. He was arrogant, but he didn't want to be a coward.

He would never allow Sakura to marry a coward, even if the coward were Sasuke himself.

And Kakashi's words. Did he really love her or was it just care for a female friend? Could he even tell her he loved or cared for her?

The mood shifted, and Sasuke immediately scowled when remembering his conversation with Kakashi. Thinking about _that_ only made things worse. Sasuke snorted. Kakashi made silly assumptions and it was probably due to the lack of love in his life. So, musing about his precious people would have to wait. For now.

After all, it was time to wake Juugo up.

Sasuke stood and tapped Juugo's shoulder. Once he called his comrade's name, Juugo opened his eyes.

He and Sasuke stared at each other, until Juugo looked away. The silence and tension was thick, but it did not bother either of them. "We're at your home?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Juugo sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Why did that woman bring me to her home? Is she foolish or something?"

"She wanted to help you," Sasuke said. "And yes. What were you doing around there? You have freedom now, but are you abusing it…?"

Juugo looked down at his hands, studying them. "You know I can't control it. I…I was trying to get away. I almost hurt Karin…and Suigetsu. I went off for no reason, and they weren't even arguing," he added, destroying Sasuke's theory.

"For no reason?"

"Orochimaru's curse is still bound to me," Juugo muttered, disheartened. "I was trying to get to the outskirts and calm down, but there were those Konoha nin. They started attacking—I guess they thought I looked dangerous—and that just made things worse."

The story did not surprise Sasuke at all. Orochimaru's work was bound to have a defect, even years later. After a moment of pondering, Sasuke made his decision. "You can stay here for a while," he told him. "You won't lose control around me."

Juugo nodded and remembered the time he got angry when Karin and Suigetsu _were_ fighting. Sasuke had told him to calm down, and without thinking, he did. In a strange way, he liked this power Sasuke had over him.

"I'll try to leave tomorrow," Juugo said. "Suigetsu and Karin are probably worried about me."

Sasuke shrugged. "Suit yourself. Just rest here until evening. They have Konoha nin wandering around here like cockroaches in the day."

Sasuke proceeded to leave the room, but stopped when Juugo called him.

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Do me a favor and tell the woman I said thank you. But…keep her away from me."

Sasuke nodded. "I will."

He had absolutely no qualms about that.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Before anyone asks, no, there will not be a NaruSakuSasu triangle. I was just sick of seeing fics where Sasuke and Sakura get together and Naruto has no problem with it whatsoever. I'm sure he'd be happy for them, but he'd still be a tad bit unsure. The next chapter has a lot of SasuSaku. Yay. ;-D 


	6. Almost Perfect

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the kind reviews! I barely read over this chapter as it was so long and I was tired. That being said, I will apologize for all strange typos you might see. Enjoy.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Six**

**.: Almost Perfect :.**

Sakura knew the early noon silence would attract Sasuke, so after a trip to the library she sought to find him. It had gotten to the point of the season when high winds were common, and this resulted in the kunoichi having to desperately cling onto her book bag. Annoyed that the winds were not allowing her to see through her hair once again, Sakura crabbily sat down on a park bench and tossed her bag to the concrete. Trying to calm her bitter thoughts, she looked into the sunlit distance until a good portion of her view was blocked.

"Something wrong?" Sasuke questioned her. He was as standoffish as ever and did not appear to be surprised at Sakura's presence. She observed his mannerism and could tell he was obviously busy with something before he found her. Whatever he was doing, it must have been important because he was removing bandages from his hand.

Sakura shook her head as she stood and cupped her hand above her eyes. Once the sunlight around Sasuke's sides were blocked, she was able to give a proper response. "Just a little annoyed," she assured him. "You were fighting?"

"I had a spar with Naruto."

"A spar with Naruto," she mimicked him, as he gave her a cross look from the corner of his eye. "OK! There are two things wrong with your lie…First, if you two were fighting, this park would be blown up."

"We're not that aggressive," Sasuke mumbled.

"And second," she continued, ignoring Sasuke. "Naruto _still_ wouldn't be awake at this time of day. Nice try."

"I was training a little," Sasuke told her as Sakura threw a skeptical look. She took it that whatever he was doing, he didn't want her to know. Since she was used to such strange behavior from Sasuke, she did not press on.

"What are you doing out here?" he finally asked.

"Just getting some books to read," she responded as he picked up her bag. He pulled out a book and smirked upon reading the title. Sakura reached for the book and he pulled his hand away from her. "A book on psychology?" he inquired, clearly amused.

"What about it?" Sakura asked after finally grabbing the book and tucking it under her arm. "So what if I'm curious? I've always wanted to know how the human mind worked." She assumed a grin and gave an unconvincing look towards Sasuke.

"You're researching on Juugo, aren't you?"

"What? No!"

"Then why else would you care about the human mind?"

"I—I could be researching on you," Sakura defended herself. "No one really understands the way you think."

"You're researching on Juugo's behavior," Sasuke repeated. "Even after I already explained everything to you and after you probably figured out who made him that way."

Sakura huffed and held the book close to her chest. Yes, she was curious, but how could she not be? Even if they were close, Sasuke never told her the full story on everything.

"So…" she started, as they began to walk around the park. "...how is it with the Juugo problem anyway?"

"It's taken care of."

"That's it? Taken care of?"

"Yeah." Sasuke threw her a sincere expression as he responded. It was usually hard to decipher those types of expressions from him, but it was especially hard now since he quickly turned his focus to the loose bandages in his hand.

Sakura put her hand on her chest and sighed in relief. So that probably meant that Juugo was not only gone, but safe and sound in Otogakure. Although she didn't do it herself, she was glad Sasuke figured out something that would spare them all from getting in trouble. She had enough trouble with growing amount of wedding plans.

"Sparring…" Sakura murmured, as she brought up an old subject. "Sasuke-kun, how come you never spar with me?"

Sasuke immediately stopped his pace and gave her an incredulous look. At his reaction, Sakura frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"Never got around to it," he attempted to innocently respond.

"Will you today?"

"No."

"But—"

"No."

"Come on!" she protested. "We have the whole day and I'm not going to break."

Sasuke growled under his breath. "I won't fight you."

"Fine." Sakura frowned. "I guess if you and Naruto did fight, he would win anyway. I mean, if you're too scared to even challenge me..."

"That doesn't work with me." Sasuke closed his eyes in annoyance, but once he could see again it was as if he had a change of heart. "But," he continued, "I guess I'll fight you. For a little bit."

Sasuke began to wrap the loose bandages back on his hand and it wasn't until he was finished when Sakura realized he was serious. "We're going to the clearing in the forest," he informed her, as he nodded his head towards the opposite direction.

By the time they got to their destination, Sasuke had told Sakura she could make a move first. That way, he thought, he was giving her an advantage.

"We have no weapons," he pointed out. "So this will be quick."

"Guess we'll just have to start with taijutsu," Sakura said, and she quickly charged. She used her feet first as she attempted to throw a roundhouse kick towards Sasuke. He smirked as he stopped her attack with his palm. He could feel the strong force in the tender part of his hand, and the bandages had alleviated the damage. He pushed off on the sole of her foot and she stumbled back. Sakura's hand hit the ground and she used her fingertips to do a flip and spun around.

Sakura threw a punch towards Sasuke, whose sharingan was now turned on, while he dodged them. He gave a short laugh and worked his hands as he took a deep breath.

"Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Sakura scoffed as she attempted to dodge the fire. What was that? A C or D-ranked technique? It was then when Sakura was sure he wasn't taking this fight seriously after all.

Then again, neither was she.

She sucked her teeth as she felt her hand fill with chakra and punched the ground before her. A break in the earth led to the bottom of a tree behind Sasuke, and she watched as the tree fell on his current location.

"Hn. I guess you're not so innocent anymore," she heard his voice say behind her. "Trying to kill me?"

"It's not like you're going to die anyway," Sakura responded with a hint of amusement. "And I haven't been 'innocent' in years. You've seen me fight."

Sakura stopped smiling as she was enveloped in darkness. She felt a coil wrap around her legs and fell over. Not only was she miffed at Sasuke's use of snakes and ability to use a Hokage level technique, but she was even more annoyed that she was sitting in a mud puddle when the light came back.

She threw Sasuke a nasty look and sniffed. "I can't believe you," she sobbed. "You know I hate snakes." As if that was not enough, she then looked at her hand and gasped at the sight. She swallowed a lump in her throat and tears filled her eyes. "And I'm covered in blood!"

"Sakura!" Sasuke called to her with a sense of urgency. He ran to her side and his eyes widened as she stuck her leg out and tripped him.

"Please," Sakura teased as she stood up. She rung a stream of mud out of her hair and smiled at the somewhat equally muddy Uchiha. "You actually fell for that?"

An irritable expression engulfed Sasuke's face. "Don't do that."

Sakura giggled. "You fall for it every time. A bloody hand and a spill in mud aren't going to hurt me. When are you ever going to take our matches seriously?"

"When you do," he responded. He scrutinized her as he let himself up and took her arm. "Now come to my home and get cleaned up."

"It's okay." Sakura smiled at him. "I don't want to track mud into your home…"

"Just do it," he commanded to a shocked Sakura. "I don't care about the mud."

Sakura raised her eyebrow at his sudden request. "All right then..."

Luckily for them, many villagers were in their homes at this time of day. Even so, Sakura looked over her shoulder every once in a while to see if anyone would witness her humiliating appearance. She gave a sly glance towards Sasuke to see if he looked any worse than her, but was dismayed to see that only his side was covered in mud. She had to admit though; even if he was covered in mud he would still look good.

"Bathroom's on the left," Sasuke told her as he threw his shirt off and went into another room. Sakura watched him close the door and proceeded to enter the room he signaled to. When she had entered, she had realized that even if she had been to his home many times in past she had never used the Uchiha bathroom. Surprisingly, it looked like any normal bathroom. Everything was actually in perfect condition, leaving Sakura to take a shower in bliss.

She let the hot water run down her body as she played with the shower knobs. Although it was childish, frankly, she was not the least bit ashamed. Sakura sighed contently when she was just about ready to clean herself, but was dismayed when she realized that something major was missing.

The soap. There was no soap available in the shower, let alone the bathroom.

Sakura checked the floor of the shower, wondering if the bar had dropped while she was foolishly playing with the knobs. When she saw that no bubbles were present, she gasped. How could Sasuke not have a bar of soap in there? She knew he was nonchalant about most things in life, but it was downright _dirty_.

After getting up from her hands and knees on the shower floor, she stepped out of the shower and looked under the cabinet for the necessity. Still no luck.

Sakura sighed as she thought about her options. She stunk, and she wanted to smell better. Thus, she would do whatever it took to get what she wanted. She knew there was a cabinet outside of the bathroom that had toilet tissue, so it probably had soap as well. The chances of Sasuke waiting outside of the door was slim, so all she had to do was grab some soap and run.

Sakura grabbed a towel (it was Sasuke's, but she figured he would get over it) and wrapped it around her body. She unlocked the door and without wasting time, she leaned down to get what she needed from the cabinet. She silently congratulated herself when she found the soap and quickly turned around to finish her heavenly shower. Unfortunately, instead of what she expected she turned around to see another man curiously staring at her.

"Juugo!" Sakura gasped, wrapping her towel tightly around her. "What are you still doing here?"

"Sakura." He smiled at her and leaned forward so it was easier to speak with her one eye-level. Sakura suddenly felt like a little child with him having to bend over like that. "I wanted to tell you thank you."

"For what?" Sakura asked him. "Erm…actually, never mind. This is a really bad time to thank me—"

"For saving my life," he cut her off. "I wanted to tell you, just in case Sasuke didn't." He didn't look as startled as she did, and seemed pleased that he finally got to speak with her. Sakura wondered if he and Sasuke talked behind her back before.

She opened her mouth and closed it. There were no words. Here she was, with nothing but a towel on, and this man didn't really care? All he wanted to do was thank her?

"Um…you're welcome?"

"Juugo." Juugo and Sakura both turned to the source of the intruding voice. "I thought you were resting all day," Sasuke questioned him. He seemed to be slightly peeved, but that was nothing new.

"I'm not going to stay in a bed all day," Juugo protested. "And I heard a sound."

"She woke you up?"

"Yes. Not intentionally."

"So it's not her fault," Sasuke reminded him.

"Yeah. Good thing too."

Sakura swallowed as she could feel the tension in the room. What was going on between the two men seemed very obvious to her. Sasuke didn't want Juugo around and Juugo didn't want to comply with Sasuke's wishes. Although that seemed to be the case, her theory was crushed when Juugo calmly spoke.

"I'll be heading off later today," he said to Sasuke. "Karin and Suigetsu are probably looking for me."

Sasuke slowly nodded as he gave a quick glance outside. "You do that."

Sakura took her free hand and tugged on Sasuke's arm. "What about the Konoha nin who are always walking around?"

"He can take care of himself," Sasuke reassured her. He did not give her a single glance while he watched Juugo return to his room.

Once Juugo had left the area, however, Sasuke seemed to have many questions for Sakura. Even so, it was she who spoke first.

"Well, it would have been nice to know that there was another man in our house before I took a shower."

"'Our' house?"

"Close enough. Still, when you said, 'it's taken care of' I thought, y'know…that he was gone." Sakura walked to the bathroom and observed herself in the mirror. It would also be nice to get rid of the loose pieces of dirt left in her hair. She took an unused brush of Sasuke's and began to use it.

"How was he?" Sasuke asked in a low tone. He stood behind her and Sakura acknowledged him through the mirror. "His reaction..?"

"It's okay. He didn't do anything perverted."

Sasuke urgently put his hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Remember what I told you. He can be dangerous. We don't want an accident."

Sakura thought the 'we' was interesting. She wondered whether Sasuke was referring to himself and her or himself and Juugo. "He was fine around me, Sasuke-kun. No violent nature or anything."

Sasuke exhaled. "Okay."

He abruptly exited the bathroom and returned a moment later with a giant shirt with the Uchiha insignia. He thrust it in front of her face and she gave him a questioning look.

"Take the towel off," he commanded.

"What?" Sakura asked, appalled.

"Put on something different," he clarified as Sakura took the shirt from his possession. He gave a flustered look in another direction as she flattened the garment out. "I…don't want you prancing around in a towel anymore."

He left the bathroom while Sakura changed, and she sighed because it seemed like she wasn't going to finish her shower after all. When she was finished, Sasuke was sitting on his couch and reading a magazine. "We should start making some more arrangements," he muttered before she even made her presence.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she plopped down next to him. "Don't worry about that. My mother seems to have everything planned out. I don't really care anymore though...being at the hospital so often is getting stressful."

"We should take a vacation," Sasuke suggested. He gave her a quick, genuine look and commenced observing his magazine.

"A vacation?" she inquired. "That'd be one way to make everyone suspicious. They'll be saying for days, 'Gee, I wonder where Sasuke and Sakura ran off to? Did they finally elope or something?'" Either way, she suddenly felt very buoyant at the fact that Sasuke had suggested it.

Sasuke ignored her second statement. "Tell Tsunade to give you a break. The news about the engagement will probably trickle out soon enough anyway."

"And you can ask for few and far A and B ranked missions," Sakura suggested. "That way you can have a lot of days off and get paid well too. You know, that's what Hyuuga Neji has been doing, and he and Tenten were able to go to Tea Country a little while back."

Sasuke snorted. "Do you really think I give a damn about what Hyuuga Neji does?"

"Not really…," Sakura muttered, suddenly abashed at her suggestion. "But yes, you _do_ have to care what he does. He and Tenten are the ones who helped me keep Juugo a secret."

Sasuke was now silent and flipped through the magazine some more. It was nearing evening when Juugo reappeared. "I'm leaving now," he announced. "I'll see you, Sasuke…Sakura."

"Good luck," Sasuke simply told him.

Although a large man, Juugo was quiet as a mouse as he left the house. Sasuke and Sakura took in the silence, and a moment after his departure, they merely stared at each other.

"Will you miss him?"

"He's only been here for a little while."

Sakura smiled. "You'll miss him."

She laid her head on his shoulder as Sasuke now read through the paper. When Sasuke felt Sakura's head, he spoke again. "You're tired."

"I'm not."

"Are you going home?" he asked. To Sakura, his voice sounded somewhat hesitant. She gave him a reassuring glance. "No, not yet. We still need to find out if we want to go on a vacation," she softly told him.

"Sakura."

"What is it?"

Sasuke tensed and seemed as if he were attempting to look extremely occupied in the paper. "If you just stay here, I'll be fine." He swallowed and avoided witnessing her expression. "We don't need a vacation."

She took his hand in hers and Sakura felt Sasuke rub his thumb against the back of her hand. "I don't have a problem with that," she told him. At this point she was fighting to stay awake, and Sasuke realized that. He carefully removed himself from the couch and laid her into a lying position. He then sat down on the arm of the couch.

"I need to tell you something," he said. She could feel his hand brush against her cheek, and she nodded, beckoning for him to go on. It was probably something dealing with Naruto or a jutsu or the marriage…

Unfortunately, he was still not relaxed. She felt his hand leave her face, as it seemed to be shaking. "Sakura…I…" he coughed. "Lately, I've been meaning to tell you…" Sakura opened her eyes at the sound of nervousness in his voice. Unused to him sounding this way, she sat up and gave him a concerned look.

"What is it?" she asked, now rubbing her eyes.

"It's…" he sighed and waved his hand towards the door. "Your mother is looking for you."

Sakura turned to where Sasuke had gestured. She suddenly felt her energy resurface and ran to the window. Once she looked out, she gave Sasuke a disgusted look. "How did she find me?" she mouthed to him, and Sasuke shrugged.

Not too long afterwards, a knock was heard. After a moment of agonizing Sakura thrust open the door.

"Mom, what a surprise!" She plastered on a smile and her mother did likewise as she studied her daughter's outfit.

"Sakura." Her mother smiled at her. "I have some information for you."

Sakura beckoned her mother to where Sasuke had been previously sitting. He had disappeared, and this made Sakura feel a wave of nervousness. He wasn't going to leave her alone with her mother, was he?

She tentatively sat down on the couch next to her mother and folded her hands in her lap, trying to look as calm as possible. "How did you find me?" she asked her.

"I asked Naruto where you were," she replied with a nonchalant tone as she looked at various papers on the table.

Sakura scowled._'Naruto…!'_

"Where's Sasuke?" her mother immediately asked.

'_Hmph. she wastes no time,'_ Sakura thought. As if on cue, Sasuke made his presence known. He coughed, causing both women turned towards him.

Instead of being shirtless with mud laced pants, Sasuke had a black, decent outfit on. Through the corner of her eye, Sakura saw her mother nod in approval.

"Haruno-san," Sasuke greeted her.

It took all of Sakura's will power not to laugh.

After a moment of struggling, Mrs. Haruno stood up and beamed at Sasuke. "Ah! You've grown so much. Not the little boy I remember who was on Sakura's team."

"Yup."

"Or the depressed boy after that horrible massacre."

Sakura gasped and covered her mouth. She couldn't believe her mother would even mention such a thing. She gave a quick glance towards Sasuke, who wasn't even looking at her anymore.

"Mhm," he simply replied.

"What did you want to tell me, mom?" Sakura questioned.

"Wedding plans!" her mother practically shrieked. "Your kimono—"

"Is it here?"

"No, we're changing the size. It looks tacky and it's too small for you! Believe it or not, you've gained weight."

Sakura blushed. "You didn't have to say that," she mumbled.

"And, we are sending out wedding invitations soon."

"So soon?" Sakura responded. She gave a furtive look towards Sasuke. "We don't want everyone knowing just yet."

"Too late," her mother briskly responded. "I already invited the girls over to make and send invitations next week."

"They all know?" Sakura asked, miffed. "I can't believe you would tell them!"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Sakura, they would find out sooner or later."

"But they are my friends," Sakura pointed out. "And it would be nice to tell _my_ friends about _my_ wedding."

"It's too late child," her mother said. "Besides, that's pretty much it for today. I was meaning to tell you yesterday but I couldn't find you either. I was beginning to think you eloped!"

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged amused glances. "Are you going home now?" she asked.

"_We_ are going change you out of that skimpy shirt!" Her mother wagged her finger. "Then we are going to fit you into another kimono before the shop closes tonight. You see, they are open until midnight…"

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other. Sakura could read a bit of disappointment in Sasuke's face even if he tried to mask his feelings. "Actually, I was planning to stay here tonight," she told her.

"Just go," Sasuke intervened. "Do what your mother says. You can pick up your dirty clothes and books later."

Sakura gave him a crestfallen look and he shrugged it off. "Oh. O—Okay."

"Heh. I like this boy," the older Haruno said in Sasuke's direction. "Come Sakura."

Sakura hesitated until she finally walked up to Sasuke and put her hand on his arm. "Bye Sasuke-kun," she whispered as her mother scrambled out of the door. Once her mother was out of sight, she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I love you."

Sasuke's watched Sakura both hurry after her mother and close the front door. While he stood in silence, he stared at the closed door and grimaced at her parting words. "…Yeah."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow, this chapter ended up being really long! I'm proud of it, even though there are probably a bunch of mistakes in it. I've gotten to the point where I don't have future chapters written (I do, however, know what's going to happen. Yay for chapter summaries; boo for homework.), so please bear with me. The bit with the shirt was inspired by a pic gabzilla on deviantart drew. Thanks for reading! 


	7. The Barrier

**Author's Note:** Thanks for all of the reviews and story alerts! Nothing else to really say, but if anyone cares to check I made a few edits in the last chapter that have no effect on the plot whatsoever.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Seven**

**.: The Barrier :.**

It was not yet eight in the morning when Sasuke pounded on Naruto's apartment door. Knowing that Naruto probably wouldn't be awake, he took the liberty of shoving the door open and letting himself in.

Despite his actions, Sasuke was not exactly being intrusive. He and Naruto would have breakfast together every once and a while, and today he felt like having breakfast with Naruto. Naruto would usually become angry about Sasuke waking him up at an "unreasonable" time, but he would eventually get over it.

The Uchiha was not far in Naruto's home when he saw Naruto hopping on one foot whilst attempting to put his shoes and clothes on. Sasuke gave his friend an inquisitive look as Naruto waved at him and fell over.

"What's going on?" Sasuke questioned him. He pulled Naruto's elbow, helping him up. It was an uncharacteristic action, but he was really curious on why Naruto was already awake.

"Tsunade baa-chan sent me a message to come to her office immediately," Naruto hastily told him. "She didn't call you?"

"No," Sasuke answered. But really, why would she?

Naruto raised his eyebrow and shrugged. "Well, she says some Konoha nin found and locked up someone from an enemy village. Did you know she had twice as many shinobi than usual watching the front gates last night? Heh, I guess she was really determined to catch someone—"

Sasuke's face contorted and he gave a growl. "So she's captured him," he muttered. He balled his fists and fiercely looked out of the window as Naruto called his name. Of course, if a sound ninja was caught she would never call _him_ to her office. He couldn't believe it though; she was on to their secret the whole time. Suddenly Sasuke felt foolish. Even though she was the Hokage, he should have been the one to outsmart her.

Naruto's brow furrowed at Sasuke's reaction. "Yeah, well. I knew it had to be someone from Otogakure! Who is it?"

"Juugo."

"What was he doing here?" Naruto asked, incredulously. "I thought that of all of them, that Karin girl would be the one to try and follow you here. Not him." He gave a disgusted look at the thought of the red-haired girl journeying all the way to Konoha to see Sasuke. Sasuke's fangirls in Konoha were bad enough.

"Long story," Sasuke replied. "Hurry up. I'm going with you to the Hokage."

Once Naruto was done getting ready, Sasuke was out the door first. His pace was quick, and Naruto threw a dirty look in his direction as he had to run to keep up with him. By the time they entered the Hokage's office, both ended up using the same, slow pace as they anticipated what they were about to face.

Sakura was already in the office with her arms folded. She looked as if she were daydreaming as she gazed out of the window. Kakashi stood in a corner and read a few papers while Shizune stood in the opposite corner, wringing her hands. Tsunade, unfortunately, threw a mean glance towards Sasuke, and then to Naruto. Surely there was much tension in the room, like a bomb was about to go off. Sasuke gave a slight smirk, as he knew most of it was because of him. Tsunade did not hate Sasuke, but he knew she abhorred Sakura's stronger loyalty to him than to her.

Sakura turned her head when she sensed Naruto and Sasuke's presence. "Sasuke-kun!" she called to him. She walked up to Sasuke and urgently grabbed his elbow. "I need to talk to you," she whispered to him, and they walked out of the room.

"She's found out," Sasuke simply said to her after their departure, stating the obvious.

Sakura sighed. "I knew it was too good to be true. It did seem suspicious that Tenten had arrived back in Konoha before Neji and I, so I guess Tsunade-sama sent a bunch of guards to watch the gates in the evening. I knew I should have cast another genjutsu or something. A more complicated one than before…"

Sasuke took on a nasty look after the mention of Neji and Tenten. He balled his fists once more so that his knuckles tuned white. Upon seeing this, Sakura spoke again.

"They didn't tell, Sasuke-kun. They wouldn't do that."

"Even if they did, our plan for hiding him was flawed. I never wanted this to happen."

"I know you didn't," Sakura whispered. She took a step forward and put her hand on his shoulder. His arm was warm from the sweat and tension and she could easily see why. "I need to tell you something Tsunade told me this morning."

"Sakura!" They heard the Hokage call. Sakura removed her hand from Sasuke and quickly rushed back into the room.

"What is it?"

"Before you start hating me for what I've done, I'll tell you why this man is locked up. You were sent on a mission, to find the one who hurt our shinobi. Last night, he did it again. So when this man, who you hid, was found it was only natural to lock him up and keep him for questioning. I know it's harsh—"

"But he didn't mean to!" Sakura blurted out. It sounded so childish, but she wanted to get it out. "He can't really control it."

"Sakura, I really don't care. Like I said, I know it's harsh, but it has to be done. It's hard to trust other people, especially when they're from an enemy village."

Sakura sighed. It was like her conversation with Neji all over again.

"You know what you and Naruto have to do," Tsunade added.

Sakura looked at Naruto. He nodded and she gave a slight one in return. "…Right."

"What about Sasuke?" Naruto asked, gesturing towards the door.

Tsunade frowned. "Sorry, but seeing as he was a member of the enemy village, it would be useless to try to have him pry information from the prisoner." She looked at Sasuke. "No hard feelings."

"None taken," Sasuke replied in a monotonous voice. Sakura could see that his fists were shaking, and she put her hand to her lips.

Naruto and Sakura were led to the cell by Shizune. Once she left, they observed the prisoner more closely. He was hunched over with his hands bound behind his back. The dark lines beneath his eyes were hard to miss when he looked up at them. Sakura gasped at his new face, he looked more malicious than ever.

"Sakura," he said in a low tone. "And…?"

"Naruto," Naruto told him. "Do you remember me?"

"Vaguely."

Sakura put her hands on the cell bars and leaned forward to speak to the prisoner. "Juugo, I am so sorry about what happened. If we had helped you escape some more we would have…" She trailed off once she realized that nothing she said could change the situation. Naruto put his hand on her shoulder and then tried a few words of his own.

"I know you're not bad," he told the other man. "I mean, besides letting Sasuke be your leader, you're not that bad," he added, making light of the situation. "We'll try to get the Hokage to hear you out."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Besides, she'd probably listen to Naruto. I may have been her student, but she probably likes Naruto better than everyone in this village."

Naruto grinned. "Are you sure?"

"Please. Everybody knows that…except for you."

"Thanks," Juugo quietly told them. "But you don't have to do this for me."

"You don't deserve to be here," Naruto protested. "So yes, we have to do this for you!"

"No, it's not that," Juugo began. He looked at the wall before him and grimaced as Sakura started to realize what he was getting at. "I'd rather be locked up than start hurting people again."

"Don't say that!" Naruto shouted. His hands were clutching the bars as well, and he scowled. "And we don't need to pry any info from you either!"

Shizune returned into the room after Naruto's last loud statement. She tentatively tapped him on the shoulder and he whipped around. "Tsunade wants to see you again."

They slowly walked out to see Tsunade standing with Kakashi and Sasuke in the office. She was clearly unsurprised at the lack of information they obtained.

"Since you're not getting anything from him," she began. "He's staying here. Sakura, you know what to do…five to five. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," Sakura said meekly as she gestured for Sasuke to exit the room with her.

"Everything will be fine, Sakura," Kakashi told her. "I know you won't have do anything you don't want to do."

She nodded at her former sensei, but it was far too late to say something like that.

She and Sasuke walked in silence away from the Hokage tower. The tension was thick, but she had to tell him what she had to do. Luckily for her, he asked about it.

"What were you going to tell me earlier?" he asked her, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

Sakura turned and gave him a depressing look. "What is it?" he asked again, as he took in her expression.

"This morning I came extra early to ask Tsunade-sama to give me a break from the hospital and from being the usual medic to go on missions. Since I wasn't working that much in the past few days anyway, and since you told me to, I decided to give it a shot. She said yes."

Sasuke nodded. "That's good."

"I'm not done," Sakura told him, a sense of urgency in her voice. She started to play with her hair and Sasuke raised his brow.

"Continue."

"After she said yes, she told me about Juugo being locked up. She said since I wasn't going to work at the hospital or go on so many missions as a medic….I should be Juugo's guard."

A moment did not pass for Sasuke to glare at her. He was fuming and Sakura wished she had told him after a more peaceful moment. "_What_?" he snarled.

"She's making me give him shots and, if necessary, heal his wounds. Try to pry info from him…until he caves, that is. Not that that will work or anything. I'm really surprised she even trusts me now."

"Why you?" Sasuke demanded. "Doesn't she have any other pawns?"

"You said you wanted to spend more time with me," Sakura told him. "And I'm trying to get a job closer to home. I know the job has long hours but I'm doing the best I can to get what we want."

Sasuke was now pacing. He stopped and put his head in his hands. "I told you about him," he said. "It's unsafe for you. He shouldn't be locked up in the first place and that just makes things worse since he's been locked up for most of his life. And the chances of the Hokage letting him write back home…" Sasuke snorted.

"I'm sorry," Sakura mumbled. Sasuke had never mentioned about Juugo being locked up for most of his life, but she had figured just as much. She wrapped her arms around him and after a moment Sasuke did likewise. "I won't forget about us or our wedding," she told him. "I promise."

Sasuke ran his hand through her hair as he let himself calm down. "I'm going to go back home," he told the top of her head after a moment's embrace. "Are you coming?"

"No, but thanks."

They left each other's arms and Sakura waved at Sasuke, who gave her an apprehensive look in return. She decided to take a walk near the shops to clear her mind a little, but that did not help at all. So many things could have been prevented if she never went on that mission and found Juugo. But if it were someone else who went on that mission, who knew what would happen to Juugo?

One thing for sure, she would still have a hard time telling Tsunade about her marriage. At first, she didn't know why it was so hard to tell the Hokage, but over time she understood. She was similar to Tsunade in many ways. Both were determined, very strong, and lost their love. However, while the younger woman had her happy ending, the older not only lost her love but also her family and old friends over time. How would Tsunade take it if she told her about the wedding? Would she feel as if her student was gloating? Would it bring up regrets?

Sakura stopped by the flower shop to speak with Ino. She was surprised that not one of her girl friends had approached her about the wedding, even after her mother had ever so rudely informed them about it. Even though she was initially looking for Ino, she found one of the others instead.

Hinata was looking at the flowers that resided on the outside of the shop, keeping to herself. Once Sakura called her name though, she looked up, alarmed.

"Sakura," she greeted. "I—I didn't see you."

Sakura walked closer to Hinata as she spoke. Hinata was so shy that when she talked one had to be in close proximity to her.

"I heard about your wedding," Hinata softly said. She blushed as she picked the stem of a carnation. "It was from your mother the other day."

Sakura scrunched her nose. "Yeah I know."

"I didn't think you'd be so happy about that," Hinata told her, now observing her hands. "Sorry that had to happen…"

"Me too," Sakura mumbled. "I wanted to tell you myself."

"How is everything?" Hinata asked after a moment.

Sakura gave a low chuckle. Everything? Everything was going wrong, actually. Her mother was planning and interfering with her whole wedding. Sasuke was extremely upset about not only the incarceration of his comrade, but the fact that his fiancé was guarding him. She would barely get to spend more time with Sasuke, who was actually warming up to her more than ever…

Instead, she said, "Fine."

Hinata smiled. "That's good."

"I have a new temporary job," Sakura began. "I'm sure you've heard about Konoha's new prisoner."

"Yes. Neji told me all about it this morning. H—he never told, Sakura."

"I know. I trust him." Sakura sighed. She also owed him and Tenten something for putting up with her. "Anyway, I'm going to be guarding and taking care of that prisoner."

"Really?" Hinata quickly asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"Do you like your new job?"

"I haven't started it yet," Sakura told her. "But I'm not sure if I'll like it."

"At least it's temporary," Hinata pointed out. "You must be wondering why I'm here."

"Not really," she lied.

"I was picking some flowers for your wedding. Your mother told me to pick the ones I like and order them to be decorations at the wedding. I was going to ask you which ones _you_ liked, but I couldn't find you…"

Normally, Sakura would be angry about her mother's decision, but she was glad that she picked Hinata of all people to pick the flowers. Ino would have been more suited for the job, but Sakura knew Hinata would not try to make the wedding hers.

She beamed at Hinata and folded her arms. "Well, thank you. Erm…I should go now. I want to have as much freedom as I can before I start my job tomorrow."

After waving, Sakura walked down the sidewalk, feeling pulled down by a strange sadness. Something made her turn around, as she had to tell someone how she felt.

"…Hinata?"

Hinata quickly turned in response. Sakura approached her and gave the other girl a genuine look. She bit her lip and held her elbow as she observed the ground.

"About that job I'm taking. I'm sure it will be fine, because I know the prisoner and he can be really nice. He's also a valued comrade of Sasuke-kun. The problem is...well, I—I think he's become like the barrier between us…and he didn't even mean it."

Hinata slowly picked the petals off of a flower as she listened to Sakura. They stood in silence until Hinata dropped the flower and spoke once more. Sakura was surprised to hear Hinata's voice; she expected the shy kunoichi to say nothing in response.

"Well...maybe that man's presence will end up being a good thing. Y—you can never know."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I have some stuff written for the next chapter, so I'm trying the best I can to work on this. I've been finishing a lot of homework at school lately and I noticed that when teachers give a lot of projects they give less homework. This gives me more time to work on this. Thanks for reading and please review! 


	8. Wishful Thinking

**Author's Note:** Again, made a few edits in previous chapters. I just love looking over older chapters and cringing the whole way through. XP

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Eight**

**.: Wishful Thinking :.**

It was only 4:00 A.M. Four hours after yesterday; barely four hours into today. It was only four in the morning when after punching her alarm clock's blare into oblivion, Sakura realized that she couldn't even recall the last time she was awake at such an early time.

Not wanting to waste time, Sakura stumbled out of bed and attempted to put her clothes on. While she brushed her teeth and looked into the mirror, she was glad no one else was able to see her in this state. However, when she walked into another room of her apartment saw 'company,' she knew she thought too soon.

"You're here," she whispered. She was surprised, but still clearly groggy. Sasuke's presence made her realize that she still wasn't asleep; it would be just like him to make sure she got her act together on her first day of a new job. He stood with her bag of books and clothes that she left at his home in his arms.

Sakura mouthed 'wait here' to Sasuke as she walked to her kitchen to make something to eat. She popped some bread into a toaster and after it was done she she went back to Sasuke and she nibbled on a piece of toast. They were both silent, but Sasuke was especially quiet as he evaluated her appearance. The fact that he was seeing her awake at such an early time did not do her justice, but she was too tired to protest. On any normal day the sight of Sasuke in her home, would have made Sakura run back to the bathroom and freshen up.

"Hn," he approved as he handed her the book bag. "When are you leaving?"

"Actually," Sakura mumbled while looking at the clock, "I should go now." Tsunade would expect her early, not only because it would be modest, but because it would be typical of her student. Sakura threw away her last bit of breakfast into the trash and grabbed her bag. She acknowledged Sasuke, who had not moved his position since the first time she looked at him. "I'll see you later on today."

"I'll walk you there," Sasuke told her with a sense of authority in his voice. He stepped forward and took her bag back from her while she gawked at him, arms positioned as if she were still holding the sac.

"O—Okay."

They walked in silence to the Hokage's tower. During their walk, Sasuke seemed interested in everything except Sakura and Sakura was interested in nothing but him. It was just like their genin days, but still so different. He was holding her arm as they walked; something he would never dare to do when they were twelve.

Once at their destination, Sasuke carefully placed her sac into her arms as if it was some valued possession of his that was on the verge of breaking. Sakura frowned in confusion at the gesture, but relaxed once Sasuke spoke.

"I can't see you later today. I'm going to Tea Country to run a couple of errands. I'll try to be back in a couple of days. "

Sakura hugged herself and managed a smile at the irony. "So I guess you're going to get that long awaited vacation we were planning for."

Sasuke hesitated at her comment and gave her skeptical look. After his reaction, he then proceeded to open the door for her. Sakura let herself in the office, the pathway to her own cell.

"I'll…see you then," Sasuke informed her as she attempted to close the door. Without another moment, he warily reached his hand up and cupped the side of her face. Immediately, Sakura jumped at the gesture and felt her face getting warm at the touch of his cold hands. Sasuke gently rubbed his thumb against her cheek, probably reflecting on the worst. He didn't seem very astonished at his own rare display of affection, but that did not really mean much; Sasuke was an excellent actor.

After locking their eyes for a moment, Sasuke let go of her face and nodded, as if he was allowing her to close the barrier between them. Sakura did likewise and swallowed the lump in her throat as she shut the door before her.

Once Sakura had seen Shizune wandering around, she remembered that since it was so early in the morning Tsunade was definitely not in the tower. She was never an early person…or a working person. She had, however, given Sakura permission to start her job as soon as she came. She didn't need to have her hand held as she went to the cell. So because of Tsunade's orders, right after Sakura greeted Shizune she went on her way.

Sakura hastily walked towards the basement of the Hokage tower—the cell's location. The cell was in the most convenient place to be guarded, that was for sure. It was darker than the other day as it was early in the morning, and much lonelier. That was changed when she bumped into someone.

It was a jounin; a middle aged man. He too was walking hastily, but the sight of Sakura seemed to make him extremely concerned.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked. "Little girls shouldn't be hanging around in places like this."

Sakura huffed. "I'm the day guard."

The man gave her an incredulous look. "You? The day guard?"

"Yes," Sakura said to him. She gave him a dark look, as she hated to be doubted because of her size and gender. "And neither I, nor the Hokage have any problem about that."

"Heh," he chuckled. "I was the night guard. There will probably be someone else doing the night shift on other days. I give up on that guy." He seemed to be stifling laughter, and when he calmed down he merely told her, "Good luck."

Sakura continued to glower at the man until he was out of sight. If Juugo had almost attacked that man, she could see why. Once he was gone, she bit her lip and continued on her way.

Soon enough, Sakura saw the familiar door she and Naruto were led to the previous day. She wrung her hands and wished that it didn't seem like it was still the middle of the night. She felt like she was in a horror story; it was so spooky. Swallowing, she nervously opened the door to meet what awaited her on the other side.

Once catching sight of Juugo, a bit of Sakura's fear resided. To her, he was not a monster, but an acquaintance. Things would not be so bad.

"Good morning!" Sakura said cheerfully, hugging her bag to her chest. "How are you today?"

It was so conventional, but it _was_ what she usually said to patients in the hospital, even if they were really bad off. Unfortunately, this man was clearly aware of what she was asking him, but neglected to respond because he seemed to be in a really lousy mood. The Juugo of today was not the smiling man who had previously thanked her for saving his life. His expression seemed a little disturbed as he stared at the wall, and changed to complete trepidation as he acknowledged his guard. Sakura thought she could see a little regret as well and that did not surprise her.

"Is there anything you want me to get for you?" she asked with as much buoyancy as before. "It's my job to heal any aches or pains and—"

"No."

Sakura huffed. He was starting to sound a lot like Sasuke.

Well, she wasn't going to complain. If he didn't want her to do anything, than so be it. She had learned that patients who never wanted help in the hospital were the best kind. She slumped down to the ground and pulled out her psychology book to read.

Not too long after opening her book, Sakura could see Juugo staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She swallowed slowly at the way he was acting and she wondered if she said or did anything wrong. Despite that, she continued reading. He had to lose interest soon.

"_He can be dangerous."_

Sakura's eyes were not even reading the words anymore. She began to concentrate on the presence next to her.

"_We don't want an accident."_

Sakura turned her head to face him. He was still staring at her, hands gripping the bars and head close enough for his nose to escape the prison. Of course, it was then when Sakura had given up ignoring the prisoner, and proceeded to tell him of her clever observation. She slammed her book shut and cleared her throat.

"You can break out you know," she said with a barely audible tone. Who knew how many other ninja were wandering around, hearing every word she said.

"I know," Juugo told her. Although she expected it, his booming voice still made her jump. She stood up after the unpleasant reaction and gave him a dismayed look.

"So why don't you?"

"You know why."

"I don't."

Juugo gave Sakura a disbelieving look that seemed a tad hostile. She wondered if this was the look he gave people before he lost control at times, but she didn't want to know the true answer. He let go of the bars and sat down on the floor, a signal that he didn't want to speak with her anymore. Sakura bit her lip and spoke as gently as she could.

"I don't," she repeated. "I'm telling the truth."

He folded his arms and wrinkled his nose. "Your people…they seem to be really naïve. It's a problem that I've encountered not once, but twice. They attack; I react to it. It's a simple trend."

"Hmm," Sakura said, putting her index finger to her lip. Juugo raised his brow and clarified it for her. To him, she didn't seem to understand that much.

"If I did what you proposed…your Hokage, your comrades, and probably even more…would be dead. That's why," he said with a low chuckle, "I'm not breaking out of this cell."

"I thought so," Sakura softly said. "I just asked because I wanted to hear it from you."

"Well…you have."

Sakura stared at Oto man and tried to gauge his expression. Although he laughed, he was definitely not happy about what he had admitted. He ignored her and played with a loose string on his shirt. It was a moment later when Sakura finally decided to sit back down on the ground. She opened her book to where she left off, as it would probably keep her occupied until the afternoon.

Ironically, it was a section about the psychotic ones.

oOo

It seemed like only a few hours later when Tsunade pushed the door open and looked back and forth between Sakura and a sleeping Juugo. Sakura raised her eyebrow and cleared her throat. "What is it, Tsunade-sama?"

"Your shift is over," the Godaime gruffly told her.

Sakura gave a small gasp. "It's already been…?"

"Yes. It has been twelve hours," she informed the younger woman with an amused tone. "Now go home and get some rest." She shooed the pink haired kunoichi and Sakura briskly stood up. "Bye Juugo!" Sakura called as she shoved past the appalled night shift guard who stood behind Tsunade.

The Godaime clicked her tongue at the farewell call and followed Sakura to her office. Sakura quickly stood in a corner and obediently waited for her.

"You're cheerful," she simply told Sakura.

"Yes," Sakura sighed.

"What did you do in there?" Tsunade slowly asked.

"I offered to help him a little, but he said no. So I just read my book until the afternoon."

"That's it?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura bit her lip. "I'm sorry I didn't get any info out of him," she quickly added. "I…erm…I tried."

Tsunade gave Sakura a skeptical look as she shrugged and sat at her desk. Sakura looked elsewhere, trying not to give everything away. _'At least I told part of the truth,'_ she thought. Although she did read the book most of the time, she did insist on telling Juugo to break out more than once. She thought she sounded a little like Naruto there, telling him he wouldn't hurt anyone if he tried really hard.

Juugo's unresponsive demeanor and nonchalance at some points made her job more than boring, if that was even possible. It was even worse at the fact that she tried to sound enthusiastic about her new job to some people. Although Juugo was only an acquaintance, she wanted to at least talk to him. After all, she was stuck with him for 12 hours. She wondered if only Sasuke could make him speak, because when she mentioned the Uchiha at one point Juugo became highly interested. Of course, she could always try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Sakura sighed. It was bad enough that she was staying in a boring cell, but now her finacé was not even going to be home to greet her. Initially, that was the main thing that she was looking forward to.

She suddenly shuddered at the fact she was thinking about her finacé in Tsunade's office. She remembered Naruto telling her to ask Tsunade to give her a break because she was engaged. If she told Tsunade, maybe Naruto would be right. Maybe she wouldn't be Juugo's guard anymore, but his visitor. That way, she could go to Tea Country with Sasuke…alone.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura briskly said to the Hokage. "I—I need to tell you something." Sakura played with the seams on her skirt after she spoke and licked her lips. Tsunade gave her an annoyed look.

"Spit it out then, Sakura."

Sakura took a deep breath. She did not really prepare for telling Tsunade about her marriage. Her doubts had not lessened at all and Tsunade wouldn't seem really happy about her bailing out on the job. But really, she wanted to tell the Hokage someday; she couldn't spend her last few days as a single woman in the cell of another man, no matter how nice he was. And there was the way Sasuke felt about the whole thing…

"I—"

The Hokage cocked her brow and Sakura gave a defeated sigh.

"I…wanted to say see you tomorrow."

"That's nice," Tsunade muttered, shuffling a few papers. "When you were my apprentice you usually just ran out of here."

Sakura gave a weak smile with a feeble laugh to match. "Y—Yeah. Well...not anymore." She edged towards the door. All she had to do now was make a quick, quiet exit.

"Sakura."

The young kunoichi halted and acknowledged the Hokage. "Yes...?"

Tsunade looked like she was sucking on something sour, a look she usually got before saying something nice. "You're a very brave girl. Thanks for agreeing to watch that man."

"You're welcome," Sakura whispered.

"I'm not kidding," Tsunade said. "He actually requested you to be his guard. I know it's foolish of me to give in to a prisoner's wishes, but he said something about you being one of the people he feels calm around…whatever _that_ means. He respects you, but I still believe he is as aggressive as ever…"

Sakura was now trembling, but did not say anything. She knew her eyes were bulging, her palms sweating. And at that, she briskly walked out of the room feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. Of course, she had to keep going to the cell now.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, I know. Way to contradict yourself Juugo. Sasuke will be upset about your request. I'm sorry this was probably a boring chapter. This and something else was originally one chapter but it got so long ('long' as in, it would break the consistent length I had going as seen in previous chapters) that I split it in two. I am _so close_ to 50 reviews that I can almost taste it. -cough- Just thought you'd ought to know. ;D Thanks for reading! 


	9. Shinobi's Anguish

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long for this chapter, but thanks for all reviews! I didn't get the chance to reply to everyone this time (this was because I would have to sift through my email to find the review reply links since most of the reviews were about a week ago). Congrats on being the 50th reviewer, fleetingthought! Sorry for all typos.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Nine**

**.: Shinobi's Anguish :.**

"You want me to stay here."

Sakura had broken the silence, something she had fully intended to do. She knew Juugo would not bring his request up, but she knew he wanted to talk about it as much as she did.

It was her second day, but the night before she was restless. It was strange—creepy even—that Juugo wanted her to stay as his guard. She wanted an explanation, not from Tsunade, but from him, Juugo.

The large man glanced up for a better view of the owner of the voice and nodded. "Yes."

"The Hokage told me," Sakura sighed, kneeling down by the cell bars. She let her bag full of books fall down her shoulder; it was not like she was going to read anything today anyway.

Juugo studied her face and spoke. "You don't want to do this."

Sakura's eyes widened. "I—that's not true! I'm just a little surprised, that's all."

Juugo's face filled with apprehensive at her inarticulate response and Sakura sighed.

"It's true Juugo. And…I am honored that you want this." She managed to beam at him, and to her astonishment, he smiled back. He looked out of it for a moment, shortly after he brought up the one close to both of their hearts in the conversation.

"He always spoke highly of you and Naruto. If he could, I would let him be my guards. Since I've never really spoken to the other one, I wanted you to…"

"It's okay," Sakura softly told him. "I know you're closer to him than me."

"Because you don't seem aggressive," Juugo continued, as if answering a question. "And…you don't make me angry. That is very rare with my condition."

"Tell me more about your condition," Sakura prodded as he gave her a wary look. "Don't worry; I'm not doing this to pull info out of you."

She sat on the ground and crossed her legs as if she was a small child, listening to a story. Juugo seemed uneasy, but soon relaxed when she gave him a reassuring smile. After listening to a few faraway voices and the small raindrops from outside of the thick walls, he began.

"When I was younger, I—I didn't know what I was in for. I remember that _he_ said he would make me powerful while experimenting on me. Of course, I was naïve back then, so I didn't question his motives. He reassured me that he was experimenting on something very important and after that, I felt more important than I ever did."

Sakura winced as she knew what was to come, but tried not to show it. In his presence, she wasn't supposed to know much about his condition yet.

"It was a seal, but it didn't seem good to me. It made me violent and I murdered others. It felt good at the time," he said while throwing her an ashamed look, "But afterwards I would always lament over it. Orochimaru called himself helping me by instilling my ability in others. He said it would give other people more power. What he said made me angry because…I wasn't going to be special anymore, even if I did kill others. I was upset for a while, but he didn't care; he locked me up anyway.

"I don't know if he told you this," he continued, "But while I was locked up other prisoners told me that many people, including the last Uchiha had that cursed seal. They said the seal changed them and it made them extremely violent, just like me."

Sakura gave a short laugh at his comment about Sasuke. "Oh, I definitely knew that."

"Really?" Juugo asked, surprised.

"Yeah. It's…a long story," Sakura whispered. One she would rather not talk about for a long while. "Go on," she urged him.

Juugo frowned. "There isn't much else to say…besides talking about killing sprees."

Sakura gave a forced laugh. "Well, even though you're a killing machine, I don't think you're _that_ bad."

"That's because you haven't seen me Sakura," he warned her. "And you're my guard because I know you never will."

Sakura took in his expression and decided it was best to say nothing. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, something he probably did much of in the past while incarcerated at Otogakure.

"So you're locked up again," Sakura sadly pointed out.

"Yes," he said, and turned around.

"I—" she sighed and studied his back. "I'm so sorry."

oOo

It was early afternoon when Sasuke finally returned to his home. Although his small trip was only a little over a day, he was extremely tired. He figured that like Sakura, most of his fatigue was due to wedding plans. He really couldn't wait for everything to be over.

At the mere thought of his fiancé, as soon as Sasuke sauntered over to his apartment he decided to call her. The unanswered phone rang many times before Sasuke finally gave up trying to reach her. _She should be home by now_, he thought. Maybe she was just…tired. Like him. Even so, he hoped she was okay.

Ironically, Sasuke was reassured of Sakura's well-being only a few days later, but he had found out in the worst way.

Sasuke had come home from Naruto's one afternoon to see his fiancé's mother standing outside of his home. He was surprised she was there as it looked like a storm was coming and the perfectionist actually had no jacket on. She was holding a few boxes, obviously more weight than what were little body could handle. He cast a vexed expression in her direction, hoping that his action would scare her off. Instead, she enthusiastically waved at him.

"What is all of this?" Sasuke asked her as he walked up, trying to remain calm.

"You should know!" she shouted. "I left a note on your door the other day, but I guess you probably didn't see it."

Sasuke shook his head. "No." (He actually did see a piece of paper on his door, but he threw it away. He had figured it was a love note from some desperate fan-girl).

"Remember the other day when I said I invited the other girls to send and make invites to the wedding? Well, today is the day to do it. Hmm," she added, looking at his appalled expression, "I am sorry for the late notice, but I did leave that note for you…"

"Why my house?" Sasuke asked her. "What business does anyone have at _my house_?"

"It's your wedding," she curtly told him, "So they should make invites at your house. Now, let's go inside and set things up. I told Sakura to come straight after work and the others should be showing up soon."

Sasuke glowered at her as he held the door open for her. All he had to do was stay on her good side until the wedding. That was all…

She set the boxes, which he later found out were filled with colored pencils and paper, on a table. Once she was done, she sighed contently and looked at Sasuke.

"You are so kind," she told him, and she looked like she was actually about to pinch his cheek. At this, Sasuke backed up. "You let me in your home and you don't seem to mind about Sakura's new choice about the job."

"What?" Sasuke asked. "I didn't hear anything about a new choice."

Confusion enveloped her visage. "She didn't tell you? She said the other day that she was about to quit or tell the Hokage about the wedding for a break."

"Really?" Sasuke asked relieved. "Then why has she been going back? I haven't seen her in days."

"Because," she began, "The prisoner wanted her to stay."

"_What?_" Sasuke angrily inquired. "So she up and stayed because some prisoner wanted her to?"

"Yes!" Mrs. Haruno exclaimed. "That's so sweet."

In silence, Sasuke seethed while Mrs. Haruno examined the room they were in. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata arrived soon enough, and Mrs. Haruno because her loud, buoyant self once again. Although the girls greeted Sasuke, he ignored their presence. He wasn't in the mood to see them, and he was still shocked at himself for not only letting his future mother-in-law invade his home, but the fact that Sakura was staying at the job because Juugo wanted her too…and not even telling him about it.

It was completely ridiculous.

The female shinobi, apprehensive on what to do as they knew there was no way Sasuke invited them to his home, huddled in a corner and quietly spoke with one other. Mrs. Haruno eventually told them to sit down at the table and not too long afterwards Sakura and Sai came in.

"Sorry I'm late," Sakura said to her mother, completely oblivious to Sasuke's piercing stare.

"At least you showed up." Her mother smiled. Sakura shrugged and gave an unsure look in Sai's direction. It was as if he followed her to Sasuke's apartment; he kept insisting that he was invited over.

"And, erm…Sai?" Sakura asked her mother in a hushed tone.

"He's pretty much the local artist," Mrs. Haruno responded. "He's the only one who can make designs that are good enough for your invites, so be grateful!"

"Um…"

"Now, I have to go," she addressed everyone. "Be good and make some nice invites." She gave everyone a smile and a nod, and left the home before anyone else could object to her decision.

The door clicked shut, and Sakura shifted her attention to Sasuke when she heard him instantly speak.

"What the heck is Sai doing in my house?" he angrily inquired. His eyes narrowed down on the pale root ninja. It seemed as if he had forgotten what he was initially angry about. Unfortunately, Sai's appearance was just adding fuel to the fire. "He isn't even invited."

"Hmm," Sai began with a semi-amused tone. "I thought we were friends."

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura groaned. "Calm down. You _just_ heard my mother explain everything."

Sasuke gave the pink haired woman a rude look, as if to say, 'That isn't a good enough reason to let that pansy into my home.'

"Just calm down and be grateful my mom left," Sakura told him. She knew she was glad the older woman was gone, as Sasuke looked like he wanted to wring her mother's neck. Not a good thing to imagine. "Now," she said, "Let's get started."

She pulled the box of papers from the side of the table and gave a clean sheet to Sai. "Sai can draw the pictures on the invitations first. After he's done with each one, everyone can write down the names of the invites. Simple, isn't it?"

"Let's start with some of my close friends," Tenten decided, as Sasuke scowled at her. _'My close friends…?'_ As if this was her wedding or something!

"Oh…okay," Sakura tentatively agreed while giving her fiancé an apprehensive look.

"Lee?" Tenten asked.

"Lee can be invited," Sakura happily conceded as Sasuke nodded. "He's a good friend of both of us."

"That means Gai will probably want to come too," Tenten warned them, as Sakura cringed. The brunette flushed, and spoke once more. "And Neji…?"

"We don't speak to him," Sasuke informed her.

"_You_ don't," Sakura corrected him. "I do. Also, he's the one who helped us with our little problem," she added with a hiss.

"Just put that one on hold and we'll come back to it later," Ino suggested with a slight tone of authority. A small smile on her face appeared, and after a moment Sakura was sure it was not because people went along with what she proposed. The confident blonde had happened to be sitting next to Sai and Sasuke was coincidently standing behind her chair.

"All right then," Tenten muttered.

"W—what about Kiba or Shino?" Hinata, who was sitting quietly up until now had finally made a suggestion. Embarrassed that her voice had turned everyone's attention to her, she quickly pretended to watch and be interested in Sai drawing the designs.

"No!" Ino protested, as if the wedding was a high school party that was for the cool kids only. "No way," she repeated.

Tenten shrugged and Sasuke was definitely with Ino on this one. Sakura gave Hinata a sorry look.

Ino smiled contently at the supposedly final decision and shuffled her completed stack of invites. Hinata gave a small cough, and Ino grudgingly turned her head to acknowledge the sound.

"I—I don't know," the shy girl meekly protested. "It might offend Shino."

"Shino gets offended over everything," Tenten butted in with a slight eye-roll.

"And Kiba?" Ino chimed in, "He will just have to suck it up." She gave a brisk nasty look towards no one in particular and continued to do her task. She was probably still bitter about Kiba breaking up with her when they were 15. "Here are Chouji and Shikamaru's invites," she announced after a small moment of silence.

Tenten and Hinata exchanged glances and the brunette decided it was crucial for her to speak up.

"What? Okay Ino. So Kiba, Shino, and Neji can't be invited, but Shikamaru and Chouji can? Sasuke and Sakura are not really even friends with them either!"

"Fine. Let's just invite everyone then," Ino snapped. "Who's with me?"

The girls and Sai earnestly nodded as Sasuke looked dangerously around the room. Jamming his hands in his pockets, he abruptly left to go outside. The others watched him leave in silence, and Sakura gave a nervous laugh.

"Hold on ladi—everyone, Sasuke has left the building." She quickly followed the Uchiha's path to see him fuming in the distance. Sakura walked up to him and took his perspiring hand.

"Okay, look. If you're so angry about Sai being in your house, then we can make an agreement and tell him to get out."

Sasuke gave her a look full of contempt. "This isn't about Sai."

Sakura took her hand from his and folded her arms. "Then what's wrong with you _this time_?"

Cross at the tone she used, Sasuke angrily made his problems clear to her. His problem, which had been plaguing him for perhaps weeks.

He gave a sadistic laugh and began, his voice rising as he made his tirade. "Even though you're smart, you just never get it, do you? Sakura…I have four women sitting around in my home, who I neither care about nor speak to, writing invitations to _my_ wedding. Come summer, we're going to be bombarded with a bunch of fools we don't even know."

"That's it?" Sakura scoffed. Sakura already knew if Sasuke had things his way, the wedding list would only consist of Naruto and Kakashi. "You really make a big deal—"

"I'm not finished," Sasuke growled, cutting her off. "So shut up and let me continue. There's also the fact that my fiancé, the one's who's always preaching to everyone about wanting to spend more time with me, is staying guarding a prisoner because he wants her too. Yes," he said to her questioning face, "I know you're not still going over there because you have to. It's because he asked you to. It was bad enough when you always followed the Hokage's wishes in the first place, but this?"

Sakura's face contorted. "He said he didn't feel so destructive when he's around me—"

"And you believe that?" he sneered. "He told me to keep you away from him. I know you just said yes because you felt compelled to keep doing the job."

"Well, maybe things have changed," Sakura hissed. "So stop talking about things you don't know about."

"Maybe you two twits just like spending time together. Are you two in love with each other or something?"

"Y—you know that's not true," Sakura said, her voice shaking. "I just told you to stop accusing me of things you know nothing about!"

"Maybe I would know about things if you bothered telling me."

"Maybe you would know about things if you hadn't randomly run off to Tea Country," Sakura argued. "The hell was that for anyway?"

Sasuke ignored her and proceeded to elaborate on his point. "You know, I found out about your plan from your own mother. And speaking of that woman," he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "Don't you _ever_ let her invite people to my home without my permission. How offensive and controlling can someone be?"

"You should know," Sakura sneered. He was not going to get away with insulting her mother, no matter how annoying she could be. Frankly, after eight years she was completely tired of his arrogant and rude attitude. "Well what do you want me to do?" she asked Sasuke, "Since you seem to hate everything my family and I are doing?"

"Stop being such a damn pushover," Sasuke told her. "Say no to Juugo, the Hokage, and your mother for once. Stop letting people tell you what to do."

"Maybe I will," Sakura coldly told him. "Not the best advice from someone who told me that we're getting married. Yeah, just randomly out of the blue one day you tell me we're getting married without even asking! How romantic!" Sakura quickly blinked and swallowed the lump in her throat. She was just now figuring out what her own problem was.

"You know," she continued, "from the rude way you treat me sometimes and the way your proposal was so out of the blue…I—I don't even know if you really feel that strongly about me in the first place. But I know what you're going to say. You're going to point about that I said, 'okay' to your proposal, right? So I'm somehow already bound to you for life and it's too late to complain."

"Sakura." Sasuke took her arm. Whether his face softened with sadness, regret or guilt, she didn't know. And honestly, she didn't care.

She shrugged his hand off and gave a wave of her hand, avoiding his eyes. "You know what?" she mumbled, "Whatever, I'm going for a walk."

She stomped off the compound, swallowing the lump in her throat once more. Somehow, she knew something like this would happen. She was sure her visage was flushed from the anger and she brushed her hair from her face before it started sticking to her cheeks. That's what always happened when she cried.

It had started raining, so she ran up the Hokage's office. Sakura thrust open the door to witness Tsunade alone in the room. She was quietly reading something until she was rudely interrupted. Sakura was glad Tsunade was alone, because that was exactly how she wanted things to be when she finally told the Hokage.

"You're back…?" Tsunade asked. "What is—?"

"I'm getting married," Sakura abruptly told her. She was not going to hold off any longer; everyone in Konoha was going to receive invitations in the next couple of days anyway. "I'm getting married to Sasuke-kun." She gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "Surprise! Since he's a jerk ninety nine percent of the time, I'm requesting some time off to recover. Hokage-sama, there are other people who can watch Juugo, okay? Tell him I'll be back in a few days."

Tsunade stood up, a worried crease forming in her forehead. "Sakura…" she softly started.

"I'll talk to you later," Sakura mumbled. "It's been a long day and I want to go home." She rushed out of the office, not taking another look at her old teacher.

Once she arrived at her apartment, she flopped down on her bed and looked outside the window in silence. It was only after a moment when she decided the dreary weather was too depressing, so she examined the contents of her room. Sakura's eyes quickly scanned for something to occupy her mind, but they halted once she took notice of what was on her dresser.

Her engagement ring.

Sakura stifled and sob and gently hugged her pillow close to her face. She never even got the chance to wear it yet.

* * *

**Author's Note: **You know that part when Sasuke tells Sakura that there are four women he doesn't care about in his home? That was a typo at first, but I decided to leave it because I wanted Sasuke to be insulting Sai, by basically calling him the fourth woman. XD 


	10. The Breaking Point

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Sennyu Megami for offering to read over chapters.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Ten**

**.: The Breaking Point :.**

Frowning, Sasuke lay on his bed, thinking about the recent events between him and Sakura. He knew he couldn't ignore the fact that they had argued, so he replayed the dispute in his head for the first time since their quarrel.

_"You know, from the rude way you treat me sometimes and the way your proposal was so out of the blue…I—I don't even know if you really feel that strongly about me in the first place."_

Sasuke cursed.The worst part was when she questioned his feelings.

He honestly tried, for years, even, but there was never any success. Every time she showed affection he didn't know how to respond. Because of this obstacle, he would often fumble over his words and eventually decide to insult her in the end. She would ignore it because she was used to his random, offensive insults, but that day…she actually admitted that it hurt her. It made her question him.

_"I—I don't even know if you really feel that strongly about me in the first place."_

The worst part was that he just couldn't do it. He didn't know how to please her or make her genuinely happy. He rarely knew when to say the right thing or how to say the right thing. How could he marry her if he had such flaws?

It was that particular moment when Sasuke decided that did not care if Sakura was a pushover at times. He just wanted to clear up things with her and get the courage to tell her the truth.

Even if it was only once.

Sasuke turned towards his open window when he heard voices nearby. His face scrunched up as he wondered why anyone would be in the Uchiha Compound. Anyone who knew better would stay off of his property.

Sasuke leaped out of his bed and proceeded to go outside. He skillfully followed the sound of the voices until the owners of the noise were right before him. Although he was very surprised at who his visitors were, he was equally unhappy to see them.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned them.

He looked back and forth between Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata as they stood in front of the Konoha Military Police Corps building. To Sasuke's annoyance, Neji folded his arms and smirked.

"So you're awake," Neji commented as Sasuke gave a cold expression in return. "I wanted to talk with you about this." The Hyuuga waved his hand towards the building before the three of them, giving a hopeful smile.

"It is Uchiha property," Sasuke savagely told him.

"I know," Neji coolly replied. "Our clan is not trying to take it from you. We do want, however, to make a proposal."

"Your clan," Sasuke started, "has nothing to do with the Konoha Military Police Corps and never will. I don't want to hear it."

"And your clan has had nothing to do with it in years," Neji said, pointing out the harsh reality. "Now let me speak. My father and the Hokage have been speaking of bringing the police corps back to life."

Sasuke snorted, but Neji ignored him and continued.

"Your clan was honorable," Neji told him without bitterness. "The Hokage and my father know that, and although I was very young when they were slain, even I know of the clan's excellence."

"Are you cajoling me?"

"No. Just telling the truth."

"I offered to be your partner if you were willing to bring back the corps," Neji quickly said. "A Hyuuga-Uchiha joint ownership. There are probably many other men who are willing to help establish it more."

Sasuke frowned at the proposal. Working…with Neji? When pigs flew _while eating ham_, maybe.

"You had three years to do whatever you wanted to do with this compound," he snarled. "Three years without me to stop you. Why now?"

"Because you're getting married," Neji bluntly told him.

Sasuke was taken aback, but he was determined not to show it. He averted his eyes away from Neji, Hinata, and the building and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Tsunade-sama recently heard from Sakura that you two were getting married," Neji continued. "Since Sakura's shuffling jobs and there's a lack of high paying A and S rank missions, the Hokage wanted to bring it back for your sakes—"

"What does she have to do with my future?" Sasuke indiscreetly inquired. "That's none of her business or yours."

Neji sighed, as if he couldn't believe what he was going to say. "You're getting married, Sasuke. You're probably going to have a family, and you need a better job to support them. This was one of the highest paying jobs, besides being an ANBU. Uchiha…the Hokage's job is to protect the village. Be it Tsunade-sama or Naruto or whoever, they will try to protect your family…even if they're not fond of you."

A pause.

"No."

"Sasuke—"

"It's my property," Sasuke growled, "so leave me alone."

The two men stood in the disquieting silence, glaring. Neji was the first to blink and he gave a slight shrug.

"Fine then. Tell me if you change your mind." He abruptly turned and walked away from the compound. Hinata stood still in her spot as she finally asked what she wanted to know. She tapped him on the shoulder.

"I—Is Sakura okay? I—I haven't s—seen her in days…"

Sasuke spun around to detect the owner of the small, gentle voice. Hinata clutched the rim of a basket full of flowers tightly as she bit her lip and averted his eyes from his. Sasuke wasn't fazed; he expected her to be especially timid around him because they rarely conversed with one another.

Although known for his cocky certainty, Sasuke did not have the heart to reply to her question. He honestly didn't know how Sakura was, as he hadn't seen her in a few days. After prying information from Tsunade he had figured out that she was taking a few days off, but that didn't give him more insight on her well-being.

Despite his recent separation with her, however, he could not be seen as unsure, especially to someone who perceived him to be unperturbed.

"She's fine," he gruffly lied to her. "We're fine."

He stomped off, leaving the shy woman behind him.

He and Sakura were fine, he decided, and they absolutely didn't need to revive the police corps to be okay either.

oOo

"Hey Sakura!" Ino called as she flipped the open sign to her family's flower shop over. The blonde appeared to be more genial than usual and Sakura found herself trying to mimic Ino's behavior. It had been a while since she herself was that pleasant.

After the event at Sasuke's home, the past few days for Sakura were inevitably lengthy and depressing. They consisted of reading absurd books her mother had given her in the past, wandering aimlessly in her apartment, and even making an effort to improve her cooking. Basically, anything to get her mind off of Sasuke…and the wedding. She also spent a great deal avoiding her mother, who would undeniably raise hell if she found out what had happened between her daughter and Sasuke. Mrs. Haruno had made it evident, after all, that she didn't want to clean up after her daughter.

Sakura managed a smile wider than Ino's. The other kunoichi looked taken aback, but regained her composure when Sakura spoke to her. "I thought you closed later than this," Sakura awkwardly replied, instigating conversation.

"Just taking the rest of the day off," the blonde happily explained. "Besides, I heard you've been taking a few days off from work yourself."

Sakura slowly nodded her head. "Yes."

Ino watched Sakura's eyes lower as she continued. "You seem happy today, Ino."

"You don't," Ino curtly pointed out.

"I've been thinking about things," Sakura muttered. "That's all."

"You needed to hibernate at your home for a few days to think about things?" Ino teased. "That's—"

Sakura cut her off with a defeating sigh. If she didn't explain what was wrong, Ino would figure out anyway. Although they were rivals at one point in their lives, they were best friends for a more significant amount of time. Because of that, Ino usually ended up knowing everything.

"You may not know this," she softly started, "but Sasuke-kun and I had an argument the other day."

"Oh," Ino murmured, putting a finger to her lips. "I…already knew that."

"What?" Sakura asked. "Did someone see and tell everyone in the village about it?"

"No. We were all still in the house. It's just that you two were kind of loud that day. So you don't need to go into any details…"

"We were, weren't we?" Sakura conceded as she shut her eyes. "We had _a lot_ to talk about that evening. Something like that was waiting to happen the moment he proposed. And my mother? It's as if she foresaw this."

"But she's uneasy about everything," Ino reminded her.

"True. Do you know what's worse? I've realized that even though I still stand by everything I said that evening, I also agree with some things he said. It's just that…because we're both so stubborn…"

"Neither of you will admit it to the other."

"Exactly. Except…I don't think he agrees with anything I said."

"Ah. Well," Ino began, smiling, "He'll come around."

Sakura snorted. "You don't know Sasuke-kun very well."

"Fine. If he really loves you, he'll come around."

Ino gave a genuine smile while Sakura hopelessly looked at Ino, her melancholy appearance extremely apparent to her friend.

"It's been five days," she quietly told her. "And he hasn't come around yet."

Truly, their future was looking bleak.

Sakura turned from her friend and stared into the direction of the Hokage's tower. "I'm going to visit Juugo," she murmured after a moment.

"Er…visiting the Otogakure prisoner isn't going to solve anything," Ino shortly replied. "Just to let you know."

"I kind of ditched him, so I think have to make up for that."

Ino gave a short, uncomfortable laugh. "So…I'm guessing that means you don't want that engagement party we were going to throw you next week. It was your mother's idea," she ended with a whisper, as if it was a bad omen to mention Mrs. Haruno around her daughter.

Sakura turned around and widened her eyes. "I—"

"You really don't seem like you're in the mood for parties. It was supposed to be a surprise by the way…"

"I'll go," Sakura told her. "And I'm not saying yes because my mother already planned it," she added in response to the unsure look on Ino's face. "I'm going for my sake. To take my mind off of things."

"Like I said," Sakura added as Ino opened her mouth. "I'm going to the cell. I'll see you later."

"You too."

Sakura quickly walked to the Hokage tower and hastened when she got closer to Tsunade's office. When she arrived at the room, she smiled at Shizune, who was unaccompanied by Tsunade.

"Where's Tsunade-sama?" she asked.

"She's taking a day off," Shizune told her, as Sakura mentally noted that everyone seemed to be taking a break. "What are you doing here, Sakura-san?"

"Can I visit Juugo? The prisoner I mean," she clarified for the confused assistant.

As usual, Shizune was apprehensive. She put a hand to her chest and whispered, "Are you sure? Your break isn't over—"

"I know!" Sakura convincingly piped up. "I just wanted to visit."

Shizune frowned as Sakura already started towards Juugo's location. "Okay…but just be careful, all right?" she warned to the younger woman. "He hasn't been well these days."

Sakura ran down the steps to Juugo's cell, anxiety engulfing her. Her nervousness about seeing Juugo seemed foreign to her, though it was only recently that she was uneasy about her first time guarding him. To make things worse, as she got closer she heard yelling between two men. She frowned at the unusual earsplitting noises when she reached the cell door, but she still cautiously knocked on the door.

The door swung open, and it was the guard who had the night shift when Juugo was first locked up. He frantically looked around; he certainly did not look as tough as he did the first day she met him. Sakura noticed that he was clutching his right ear and his eyes tightened in pain. When he removed his hand she noticed the whole right side of his face was bleeding from a mass of injuries.

Although used to the sight of blood, Sakura gasped at the sight. What Shizune had said was obviously an understatement.

She was about to see Juugo in action, and it was not going to be pleasant.

"Get me out of here," the guard both frantically and gruffly demanded of her in a slurred voice. "This one is crazy…please," he pleaded grabbing her arm. He suddenly cried out, blood spurting out of his mouth. With his final breath, he grabbed his chest and collapsed before Sakura.

Heart racing, Sakura scanned the dark room for Juugo. She called his name once, twice, but got no answer.

"JUUGO!" Sakura tried again, louder and more commanding. "JUST STOP! YOU'VE KILLED SOMEONE!"

Once again, Sakura only heard silence, but hushed up when she finally saw the tall man before her, enveloped in black marks. She studied his unfamiliar, savage-like expression, trying and failing to think of something else to say, but it wasn't but one second later when she felt something strike her as well.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter is significantly shorter than the others, but I didn't want to cram in useless stuff to make it longer.The funny thing is that the chapter gradually changed while I was writing it. I love doing that. I also just noticed that this story is exactly one month old (and it has ten chapters). Two milestones in one. :D 


	11. Numb

**Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews! I posted this now instead of the weekend because I really like this chapter. It is my favorite one so far. Enjoy.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Eleven**

**.: Numb :.**

Suddenly, Sakura felt her arm dampen as she cried in pain. She grasped her arm, trying to stop the blood flow that the glass had caused.

Without a split second, Juugo went for another blow. Sakura hastily ducked this time, and once his eyes were not on her, she ran to his side. She knew violence around Juugo was not the answer, but she had to defend herself. At that thought, Sakura raised her fist and aimed for his face. Juugo grinned maliciously as his hand grabbed her fist, making her scream once more. Unfortunately for Sakura, he happened to have another piece of glass in his hand.

Flinching because of her throbbing arm and hand, Sakura tried her tactic once again. She quickly ran to his other side and pumped her fist with chakra. Without a moment's hesitation, she lifted her fist and went for the side of his face.

Stumbling backwards, Juugo shook his head and tried to decipher where the blow came from. He looked from the corner of his eye and studied the pink blur near his side. Sakura gritted her teeth as she clutched her injured arm and watched a pool of blood form from her bleeding hand. He gave a loud slurred laugh once he was able to clearly see the grave condition she was in. Juugo continued chortling for a good minute until he finally collapsed to the ground.

Sakura sucked in her breath and bit her lip. It was not only because of the pain she was in, but because of the sight she had just witnessed. Here he was, the large, gentle man who actually gave her a good first impression in a vulnerable and violent position. He was sitting on the ground, shaking, so Sakura assumed that his episode was over.

Sakura warily walked towards Juugo. Knowing that it was best not to hurt him anymore, Sakura kneeled down to his side and touch his shoulder. He did not look up at her touch, and Sakura wondered if this was because he was trying to hide his tears.

After a moment's hesitation, Sakura tentatively hugged Juugo's bulky arm. Devastated, the now san Juugo gave her a sorry glance. Upon seeing his heartbreaking expression, Sakura held her breath and finally gave him a full hug.

It was the only thing she could do now, because hugs always seemed to work.

Sakura swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she let go of Juugo. She tried to manage to smile as if to say, 'no hard feelings' but they both knew that that would never work. Inevitably, whenever Sakura looked at him, he avoided her gaze. His eyes rested on her visible wounds instead until the cell door swung open.

"Sakura!"

The Godaime rushed into the cell, jumping over the dead guard. Shizune was right on her heels and tiptoed around the guard. She struggled to swallow at the sight of the murdered man.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura cried as Tsunade harshly pulled her up. The Hokage's eyes darted between Juugo and her former student's wounds, her eyes filled with malice.

"What have you done?" she fiercely asked him. "What happened here?"

"Tsunade—"

"Sakura, don't start," Tsunade cut her off, eyes still on Juugo.

"Please," Sakura started again, "I think the other guard might have been harassing him. And h—he was trying not to hurt anyone—"

Tsunade gave a caustic laugh as she looked at Sakura's injuries. "Fine then. Since you're so eager to talk, Sakura, then tell me what you were doing down here in the first place. You know, after telling me that you needed a break from work."

All of a sudden, Shizune gulped so loudly that everyone in the room heard. "I—I believe that's my—"

"No!" Sakura shouted at her. "I let myself down here because I thought I would see Juugo again. I'm not a child; I can come down here if I want."

"Even if it's against the Hokage's wishes," Tsunade growled. "Hmph." Flipping back one of her blond pigtails, Tsunade walked over to the Oto ninja and put her hand on his shoulder. Sakura opened her mouth in protest but was muffled when Shizune quickly covered the opening to the younger kunoichi's mouth.

Eyes full of wickedness, Juugo shrugged Tsunade's hand off of him. He stood up and towered over her, but Tsunade smirked at his action. "Can't control it, eh?"

Juugo clenched his fists and angrily looked at the area around him. His eyes caught Sakura's and she fiercely shook her head. Ad nodded as he took a deep breath and let his fists relax.

"Hokage-sama. I am sorry for what I have done. It wasn't intentional."

"You killed one of my men," Tsunade spat. "Even though he was stupid enough to give you glass dishes for your meals, he's a Konoha man."

Tsunade swiftly glanced at Sakura in the middle of her tirade. Sakura thought she could see a bit of remorse in the Godaime's face, but she was never too sure.

"You injured the top medic nin in the village," Tsuande added, with just as much malevolence. "Your apology is _not_ accepted."

"Fine," Juugo said in a low voice. "Keep me locked up."

"Right. Because that worked before! We're giving you an injection," Tsunade said to Juugo's empty eyes. "I warned you before."

Sakura wriggled from Shizune's grasp. "What will it do?" she quickly asked. Her question was not because she did not know what the shot would do; Tsunade had informed her about giving Juugo shots if necessary if he became aggressive. She had actually interrogated Tsunade for Juugo's benefit. She had no doubt that he was wondering what the shot would do.

Tsunade gave Sakura a disbelieving look. "Numb him," she told her, as if a young child would know such a question. "His arms in particular, but we won't hesitate to numb the rest of his body."

Without a split second, Tsunade motioned for the three to follow her. Sakura was surprised that Juugo had not lost it once again with the way the Hokage was going on.

But then again, it was not that surprising. While Tsunade spoke he often stared blankly at nothing or at her wounds. It was as if he felt more than guilty…as if he had made his own death wish because what had happened to her.

"We're going to the hospital," Tsunade said as they left the cell. "Shizune—oh, it's not _that _bad—go tell someone to clean this mess up!" With a flick of her wrist, she gestured to the pieces of glass and the dead body and stomped off.

Once the three arrived at the hospital, all eyes were fixed on them. Sakura clutched her arm and tried to hide her wound, but her bloody hand was still unfortunately visible. Once, Tsunade scowled at the ones who gawked, they all returned to their work. She led Sakura and Juugo to a room near the back of the hospital where a group of jounin were already located.

"Tsunade-sama!" one cried in surprised as he wiped his mouth and hid a tall bottle behind his back. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't question me," Tsunade snapped. "Strap him down."

The jounin wasted no time to grab Juugo and lead him to the bed. Juugo began to shake and Sakura bit her lip.

_Please…please don't lose it. _

"Don't—" Sakura pleaded.

"I know," he replied.

Digging his nails into his palms, he let the jounin force him to the bed. Two belts attached to the bottom of the bed were strapped over him ("Good thing these are already huge," one jounin remarked, amused). He clenched his teeth and glowered at the Hokage.

"You're done."

"No," Tsunade coolly said. "I'm not. We're knocking you out too."

"You said I was only going numb," he growled, his eyes darkening once again. "Watch yourself."

Ignoring his comment, Tsunade reached for the injection. She slowly walked to the side of the bed without a hint of fear in her expression. Juugo snarled and lifted up his arm in her general direction. Effortlessly, he snapped off the straps.

Juugo rose from his lying position and cruelly scrutinized everyone in the room. Once he was finished, he picked up the rest of the belt and ripped it into little pieces. A few jounin grabbed a hold of his arm but he swung them away. He laughed at their now terrified expressions as he picked up a chair and threw it in their direction. Once someone was hit, he turned to the Hokage.

"SURPRISE!" he finally shouted to her, grinning. "_THIS_ IS WHERE IT ENDS!"

Sakura's heart quickened to the point of near shock as she observed the scene before her. _'No,'_ she thought. Of course he wouldn't be able to stay calm for so long. Not with the way he was being treated. How could she be so ridiculous to—?

Sakura watched Juugo's hand harshly swipe some of the shots from a small table. Shoving her aside, he came towards the Hokage. Sakura ran between them, her perspiring hands reaching out to Juugo.

"Tsuna—JUUGO!"

"Sakura!" another jounin frantically called, pushing out of the back. "Get back! You're already hurt!"

"NO!" Sakura called. "I—"

"Sakura-san!" Shizune was now standing at the doorway, frantically looking around the room. "Tsunade-sama can take care of herself! Please!" She ran into the room and grabbed the pink haired woman, as Tsunade jabbed the injection into Juugo's large side.

After staring in horror, Sakura found herself sobbing at the now motionless man who was being forced onto the bed. Using whatever strength she had left, she struggled to fight off Shizune, but it was no use. Her arm and hand were throbbing way too much to help her escape. As she gasped for air from Shizune's tight grip, Sakura began to taste the salty tears that had finally reached her mouth.

Shizune pulled the crying and stuggling woman out of the room into the front of the hospital. She gave Sakura a quick hug, as if she were reassuring a child. "I'm sorry," she murmured in Sakura's ear. "You'll understand one day."

"Sakura!"

Not too far away, with a quick leap Mrs. Haruno left her waiting chair. She grabbed her daughter from Shizune and hugged her tightly.

"Mom," Sakura whispered.

"Shh...Thank Kami you're okay. The receptionist just alerted me about you."

"Mom," Sakura started again. She gently pushed her mother's chest and looked into her eyes. "I want to go home."

After a moment of initial frowning, Mrs. Haruno briskly nodded as she looked at Shizune. "Okay…okay."

"Take care of those wounds," Shizune softly told Sakura as they began to depart. "And don't worry. E—everything will be okay."

Walking in silence was best for the two of them, so mother and daughter decided not to speak on the way home. Upon reaching Sakura's apartment, Mrs. Haruno warily opened the door and motioned for Sakura to go in first, as if the harsh evening would injure her daughter some more.

Without looking at her mother Sakura walked to her bathroom and washed off her wounds. She healed herself with her uninjured hand and winced as the chakra pumped in. Once she was done she found her mother sitting on her couch, staring into nothingness. Sakura sat down next to her and gently put her head on her mother's shoulder. Her mother gave a hint of a smile.

"Where's Sasuke?" she asked, after a moment of silence.

"I don't know," Sakura softly answered.

Mrs. Haruno nudged her daughter. "He wasn't with yo—?"

"No, mom."

"Oh."

Knowing that her daughter would not want to talk about the day's events, Sakura's mother scanned the room for something happy to talk about. Her eyes laid on a kimono hanging near the door and she smiled.

"I dropped off your kimono earlier today," she informed Sakura. "Do you want to try it on?"

Sakura's throat tightened as she looked at the beautiful red and white kimono. The dress was perfect, and its place in her home was as if it were mocking her. A perfect dress for a flawed girl. She looked at her mother and bit her lip.

"I…no."

"Sakura."

"I can't." Sakura blinked back tears as she looked at her mother. It wasn't long until she was shaking with sobs and gasping for air again.

"It's been a long day," her mother whispered.

"T—that's not it. We got into an argument."

"Who? You and Sasuke? Everyone argues with their partner—"

Sakura shook her head, gripping the arm of her couch. "I…mom…" She gave her mother a sorry look and stared out of the window, sadly smiling. "We're not like everyone, OK? I…don't think this isn't going to work out anymore."

"What did he say?" her mother quickly demanded. "Did he hurt you?"

"He told the truth," Sakura told her. "…and so did I. He wasn't sure about my decisions and I…wasn't too sure about his feelings. We haven't spoken in days," she added as her mother abruptly stood from the couch. Sakura's mother pursed her lips and started cleaning the area, as if tidying up was more important than her daughter's words. "I—I'm sorry if this is ruining everything for you. You don't have to clean up after us…"

By the time Sakura had finished speaking, her mother had left to go to another room. Looking at the empty spot next to her, Sakura sighed and hugged the couch's pillow. After a moment to herself, Sakura finally went to her room.

Sakura lay face down on her bed as studied the contents in her closet. She decided that this wasn't going to be like last time, when she saw her unworn engagement ring. To make sure it didn't happen, she closed her eyes, concentrating on the most positive recent moments in her life...talking with Ino at the flower shop…getting encouragement from Hinata…going shopping with Sasuke…

But the negative events still popped up. Her argument with Sasuke…Juugo going berserk…

Sakura tightened her closed eyes. "Not again," she mumbled, as images of an out of control Sasuke and a mad Juugo ran though her mind. The experiences were so similar…was she doomed to deal with unstable people because of Orochimaru's curse forever?

All of a sudden, Sakura felt something change in the room. It was as if something was added…another person's presence. At that last thought, she sat up and twisted her head to see her visitor.

Blocking the cold air from her window, it was Sasuke of course, and he was sitting on her window sill as usual. Although he seemed indifferent at first sight, his eyes bore into hers as if it was the first time he was seeing her. Sakura was the first to blink and after doing so she left her bed to stand before him.

"What are you doing here?" she softly asked. "My mother is in another room and she won't be happy…"

"Sakura."

Sasuke jumped from the windowsill with such speed that it startled her. She watched him uncertainly flex his hands as he slowly observed the scars on her hand and arm.

Once he was done loosening up his hands, Sasuke warily reached up a hand brushed the side of her face. It was only natural that he ignored the crusty remnants of tears and the sweat on her face as he felt her skin, because after everything she had been through, she was still so soft. Sasuke's hand left her face and he placed it on her shoulder as he gazed at her once more.

"Are you okay?" he finally asked.

Sakura averted her eyes from his. "I shouldn't have gone there."

"But you did."

Sakura vigorously shook her head and proceeded to speak again, her voice shaking. "I went when you didn't want me too. I—I knew you would be worried. So that's why I…"

"Shut up."

Sakura's eyes widened at Sasuke's words as she abruptly shut her mouth. Frowning at her statement, Sasuke leaned down to her eyelevel and slowly began to communicate his intentions with her.

"Listen to me…Sakura. You're fine…that's all that matters to me."

And, with his proclamation, Sasuke's free hand reached Sakura's other shoulder. Sakura drew in her breath at the feel of his warm hands. It was usually the other way around, but now she was the cold one. Tonight, his presence was comforting, something that made her content and warm as well.

After a second that felt like a lifetime, Sasuke's hands reached for Sakura's back. He proceeded to encircle his arms around her and gently pulled her towards him. Sakura followed suit and reached her arms around his large torso. Unused to such an action due to the recent unfortunate events, Sasuke shakily exhaled. His breathing was not any calmer when she buried her head into his chest as their embrace continued to occur.

Even if Sakura's mother was nearby, they were able to stay calm. Even if the cold air from outside was filling up her room, they were able to stand in silence, enjoying each other's company. Near the end of their embrace, Sasuke held Sakura a little more tightly until he finally let go. Astounded, he stared at Sakura and she gave him a similar expression in return. He was never one to initiate hugs, after all. After their silent exchange, Sasuke nodded at her and took a step backward.

"I have to go," he quickly told her, the room suddenly becoming foreign to him. He started for the window and skillfully lifted himself back on her sill.

Sakura winced, but game a small smile to mask her disappointment. "Okay."

He took in the unfortunate scene before him; the girl who would lament even more if he left her behind. Her façade began to fail, and Sasuke paused.

"Sakura…"

With a sense of finality, he reached out his large hand to her small one. Without wavering, Sakura took a bold step towards him and took his hand. The two clasped hands for a moment until Sasuke instantly shook his head and drew his hand back.

"I'll...see you later…" he muttered, his face apologetic.

And then, without casting her another glance, he swiftly and silently disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Heh…bet you didn't see that SasuSaku moment coming after the earlier events in the chapter. FYI, when Sasuke is reaching out his hand, he's offering for her to come home with him, but he changes his mind. Thanks for reading and please review! 


	12. The Liaison

**Author's Note:** Okay, I lied. Suigetsu and Karin **are** in this story. Sorry for changing my mind so much! I promise this is the only thing in the story I wasn't so sure about. Everything else was set in stone. It would just be strange to have Juugo, but no Suigetsu and Karin.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Twelve**

**.: The Liaison :.**

_Sakura, come over with Sasuke for dinner tomorrow evening. It's my treat!_

_Your Mother_

With a wry smile, Sakura folded up the note left on her kitchen table and placed it into her pocket. It must have been for the "surprise" engagement party everyone was planning for she and Sasuke.

Still, it was odd how her mother still wanted to party to go on even after the past evening's events. She did not seem pleased with Sasuke at all, and when Sakura's mother was angry at someone, she was _angry_ at someone. No understatement.

After fumbling through her fridge for a few moments, Sakura grabbed something quick to eat and decided to take a walk. She was still "on leave" from work, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. Since Juugo was in the hospital she obviously didn't have to guard him anymore, and she doubted that Tsunade would make her his nurse. After the wedding it would probably be back to hospital shifts for her.

Happy that the weather was getting warmer, Sakura hummed to herself as she meandered and observed the landscape around her. It was not far into her walk when she caught sight of the local hospital and unconsciously grimaced. She stopped a few feet away from the building as if there was a boundary keeping her from coming closer. Sakura warily planted her feet into the ground and watched those who could freely enter the building.

There was no way of telling what else had been done to Juugo in the middle of the night. Even if she asked someone they would probably lie to make her feel better. In her village, even if Juugo had died in the night people would_ still_ try to lie to her despite her intelligence. After such a thought, Sakura just hoped that he was still passed out and untouched. For a split second she even thought of moving her feet and visiting the man, but she really didn't need any more trouble.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura-san!"

Sakura jumped, and not long after she spun around Naruto and Lee were on each of her sides. Their expressions mirrored each others as they both tried to pull information from her.

"Are you okay?" one asked.

"Yes."

"I heard you were hurt," another sadly informed her.

"Yes, but not that much."

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"YES!"

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked, causing Sakura's frustrated demeanor to soften. "I think he's going to be so mad about what Juugo did!"

"I haven't seen him," Sakura quietly murmured as she played with the ends of her hair. She avoided Naruto and Lee's wide gazes and tried her hardest to not shift her feet like a lying child. "And I don't think he's that mad at Juugo. They're friends…"

"Sakura-san," Lee softly told her. "That is not what I heard. People are saying that Sasuke-kun wants to injure him since you two…" he stalled, "You…are getting married."

Sakura sighed. She forgot that everyone would have received their invitations to the wedding by now, and thus, to the party.

"I know you're smarter than that Lee," she chastised him. "Don't believe what the villagers say. They gossip."

"Especially Ino," Naruto said, scrunching up his face.

"Ino!" Sakura shrieked. It was as if Ino was reverting to her old ways again. Gossiping about people even if she liked them! Just wait until she saw that blonde woman again!

"Hey, hey! Calm down," Naruto sheepishly responded, putting his hands up defensively. "I'm just giving a general idea. Besides, I don't think she hates you that much anymore…"

"Sakura-san."

Lee, who had been silent since mentioning the marriage, was now beaming. He, like Naruto, had a crush on Sakura many years ago, but it dissolved over time. Even if he happened to still have feelings for her, he couldn't help but be happy. He winked.

"Congratulations. I hope Sasuke-kun takes good care of you!"

"Me too!" Naruto added, "Or we'll m—"

"Naruto," Sakura lowly hissed. "Thanks Lee."

The three stood in awkward silence, but after a moment Sakura figured out it was only she who thought it to be awkward. Lee was looking towards the distance, probably trying to figure out how much he could run today, and Naruto was suddenly counting the number of coupons he had to Ichiraku.

"I've got to go," Sakura told them, glad that they were occupied on things other than her. "I have to find Sasuke-kun, you know?"

"Okay! See you tomorrow nigh—" Naruto cheerfully told her, as Lee lightly punched him in the arm.

Pretending to see nothing, Sakura waved and started towards the park. She reviewed her conversation with Naruto and Lee, pleased with how it went, but it wasn't long until she directed her thoughts to her fiancé.

"Sasuke-kun…"

She tenderly touched her cheek where his rough, warm hand had brushed it the night before. Once others began to stare, she pretended to push back her hair.

Sakura leaned against a tree and pulled the note her mother left out of her pocket. She knew she had to show it to him because he was not in the surprise, but it would be hard facing him again. It would be strange; the Uchiha had shown so much affection (for him, at least) in one night.

She read over the note and reviewed her thoughts, wondering what to say when she finally saw him again. Her muse was interrupted; however, when through the corner of her eye, she noticed a dark silhouette to the left at her. As the figure came closer to her, Sakura nervously and breathlessly awaited the man's arrival. She drew and her breath and pushed off the tree as she raised the note.

"Sasuke-kun, here's—"

Suddenly, he brushed past her, not paying her any mind. Sakura stumbled backwards in surprise and widened her eyes as his large arm collided with her chest. Holding her arm and trying to determine the cause of his confusing demeanor, she called his name again. Unfortunately, she was left staring at the rushing man's back.

Sakura slowly put down her hand, as she tried to ignore her heart pounding against her chest. She looked around at the people around the park; they did not seem to notice the encounter the couple had just had. Sasuke was already long gone and heading towards the direction she came from. Sakura held her breath as she finally looked at the building she had just refused to go into, the building Sasuke was nearing.

oOo

Pushing chakra into his feet, Sasuke walked up the side of the hospital building. He knew which room was Juugo's; the one with bars on the window, so he knocked on that window. The jounin who was meant to guard Juugo opened it for Sasuke, and Sasuke let himself in. Juugo was wide awake, but quickly sat up once he saw the Uchiha.

"Sasuke! I'm sorry about her. I tried—"

"Stop." Sasuke put his hand up to silence the large man. He looked at both Juugo and the jounin to address both of them. "Shut up and listen to me. Some Oto nin are trying to infiltrate into Konoha because of you. This was inevitable, but the way they are doing it is so obvious that even the Hokage will find out what they're doing before they come. It's sloppy."

"How did you find this out?" Juugo asked. He put his hands into his lap and twiddled his thumbs, trying to figure out everything in his head. "And why do they want me?"

"They're your comrades, you idiot," Sasuke bluntly told him. "They obviously want you back." He gestured towards the jounin, who was standing in the corner. "He's an Oto nin disguised as a Konoha nin, trying to make sure nothing happens to you."

"The Hokage and her pawns was so caught up in strapping you down yesterday that she didn't even notice the unfamiliar jounin in the room," the man told Juugo. "When another person was watching you, I went back to Otogakure as fast as I could and told Suigetsu and Karin everything. Unfortunately, their plans are aggressive. We need to stop them and be smarter about this."

"What will you do?" Juugo inquired.

The disguised jounin looked at Sasuke, and once the Uchiha nodded he spoke. "I'll tell the Hokage that Oto nin are trying to break into Konoha. She'll obviously send of team of "trustworthy" people to stop them, but they'll meet with Suigetsu and Karin to make a better rescue plan instead. You know how they are."

Juugo nodded. "Okay." He slowly turned towards Sasuke, apprehension in his eyes. "What trustworthy people do you think…?"

"Naruto, Sakura. Those types."

"Sakura." Juugo looked down at his hands and frowned. "Will you go with her?"

Turning away from Juugo, Sasuke shrugged. "She'll be fine."

"She'll want you to come."

"I know." Sasuke cleared his throat and looked at the two other men. "Tell the Hokage everything tomorrow evening. I heard I have to go to a party and that'll be the perfect news to break it up."

The man in incognito grinned. "Yes, Sasuke-san."

Once the disguised one left earshot, Sasuke turned back to Juugo. He placed his hand in the larger man's, dropping something inside.

"Take care of this for me," he lowly muttered to him. "I need it safe until we get back."

oOo

"Heh. He killed someone?"

"Well, it _is_ what he does."

"They're ninjas. Why are they so upset about someone dying?"

"They're leaf."

"Hmph."

Hoozuki Suigetsu grinned as he finished shinning his sword. "Sharpened, shinned, and ready to fight a bunch of thugs who locked up our man. I think I'm ready." Voice echoing in their lair, he eagerly stood up and wielded his sword a few inches from Karin's hair. Karin ducked and angrily swung for him.

"Don't get too hasty!" she chastised him. "Sasuke will get angry. They're his people."

Suigetsu gave a mocking laugh. "He doesn't care about that many people there. Only two. Or three."

"Hopefully," Karin muttered. "It will be nice to see him again, won't it?" she nudged Suigetsu's shoulder as he turned to liquid. She put her hands on her hips as he shook his head. "Well, _I_ think it will be. I'm sick of hanging around only you!"

"Tch. _You_ think that's bad…"

Karin's eyes darkened and she lifted her finger and opened her mouth. Suddenly, another Oto nin entered the room and spoke, stopping her from commencing a tirade.

"Some news from Konoha. It seems a team of Konoha nin will probably be showing up tomorrow."

"Great." Suigetsu grinned. "I've been waiting for a good fight."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the short chapter and lack of SasuSaku. Don't worry, there will be more soon. I also apologize to those who were upset Sasuke didn't take Sakura home with him last chapter.

I hate to say this, but writing this fic feels like a chore now. I have chapter summaries and everything, but I'm going to be really busy after spring break. Exams, then I have a 9 to 5 summer job. There's no way I'll be able to finish this before May. I'll still write it because I said I would finish it, but I doubt the updates will be very fast. Thanks for reading.


	13. The Letter

**Author's Note:** I am so sorry.

**On the Contrary**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**.: The Letter :.**

_Dear Sakura,_

He frowned and crossed out the term of endearment. It just wouldn't work.

_Sakura,_

Mouthing the words as he began to write, he felt more comfortable with the letter. It wasn't much, but it was all he needed to say. Hopefully it wouldn't startle her that much.

oOo

After a few minutes of scribbling nonsense, Juugo put his pen down and stuffed the paper in his pocket when he heard the door open.

"You have a visitor," the guard outside his hospital room informed him, clearly displeased.

"Not really a visitor," a women from behind sheepishly corrected him. "I came looking for Sasuke-kun and—"

The man grunted, cutting her off. "Yeah, whatever."

Sakura shrugged and gave a timid smile as she looked into the sound ninja's direction. Frankly, she wasn't expecting him to be alone. It was awkward, but she was used to clearing awkwardness when speaking with Sasuke. Kind of. So why would this be any different?

"Long time no see," she softly started. "I mean, it's only been a few days…but it felt like a long time since the last time I saw you."

Juugo nonchalantly shrugged, and Sakura decided that she better get to what she meant to in the first place. She spoke in a quiet tone, as the guard kept the door a crack open. "So…did Sasuke-kun come by earlier?"

"Yes."

"Oh." She mechanically sucked her teeth. "So he left?"

Juugo nodded again, somewhat annoyed. Sakura didn't blame him…of course he left.

She frowned and shuffled her feet, measuring how close she was to screaming on the inside. _'Dammit,'_ she thought.

She stepped towards the door, readying herself to leave when a little voice inside her persuaded her to do otherwise.

'_It's rude,'_ her inner self told her, _'coming and going like that, away from someone who was probably lonely from sitting alone in a hospital room all day!'_

Sakura gave a small whine. _'But I want to see my finacé.'_

'_Look at him,'_ her inner self argued. _'He looks depressed.'_

Sakura partially turned to see Juugo's expression, waiting for a rush of guilt to overwhelm her.

'_No, he looks bored.'_

Despite that, Sakura found herself turning towards Juugo and managing a smile.

"Do you want to go on a walk?"

He cocked a brow. "A what?"

"Walking," she piped up. "Well, you've been sitting around in this room all the time and it would be nice for some fresh air. Besides, it's not like you've been doing anything interesting here."

"Not really."

She gave a small smile. "But you can probably break out if you wanted to, like in the cell, right?"

"Sakura," he softly changed the subject, as she hastened towards the door. "I'm sorry about the other day. I—"

"It's fine," Sakura reassured him. Really, she was more worried about Sasuke hurting him over it.

Sakura disappeared outside of the room to, what Juugo figured, compromise with the guard. She returned shortly after, beaming. It really came in handy to be favored by the Hokage.

"Come on, you're free!" she told him as she grabbed his arm. "Well, at least for now."

They left the hospital, ignoring the glances of suspicious nurses. The guard muttered something to one nurse who muttered to another and then another, and soon they were off the hook. Despite Sasuke's brush off, Sakura suddenly felt joyful and piped up to speak, "So...what do you want to do?"

"I don't know." Juugo looked at the area around in deep thought. It was much livelier and cleaner than the Sound village for sure. He noticed a garden not too far away and pointed too it.

"Look."

Sakura turned to the direction that piqued the large man's interest and stifled a giggle. A variety of plants and flowers suddenly filled her sight. "Er…you like flowers?"

Juugo shook his head. "The animals, mostly."

With Sakura following, he started towards the garden and ignored the vegetation in favor of a bird nearby. Sakura was sure the small bird would fly away upon sensing Juugo, but the bird did otherwise. Juugo grinned as it perched on his finger, but Sakura was more amazed at the smile on the Sound ninja's face. It was the happiest she had ever seen him.

"She seems to like it here," Juugo said, and Sakura grinned when it dawned on her that he was referring to the bird.

"So this is what makes you happy," Sakura said, remembering studying the psychology books to figure him out. "I guess you're not so hard to figure out after all?"

Juugo continued to focus on the bird, which was now pecking at his finger. "Yes. It's pretty much this."

"And," he started again, suddenly turning towards Sakura. "I can guess what makes you happy."

Sakura was unfazed. Knowing that he couldn't possibly know, she smirked and put her hands on her hips. "And what would that be?"

"Sasuke," he simply told her.

Inner Sakura cursed, while the outer blushed. That one statement made her feel like a school girl again.

"I saw how disappointed you looked when he wasn't in my room," he continued. "It's okay though," he quietly added. "He really likes you too."

"It really depends on how you define 'like.'"

Juugo lifted up his chin for her to go on, as he watched the bird finally fly away.

"I don't know if he told you this," Sakura started, "but we're getting married. And Sasuke's just…well he doesn't—"

Juugo gave a strange chuckle. "I get it."

"The funny thing is," Sakura continued, "that even though he can be a jerk most of the time, I'm still in love with him."

Juugo folded his arms, curiosity engulfing his face. "Really?" he asked. He looked slightly embarrassed, but after a moment he spoke again. "And how does that feel?"

"W—what?"

"Well…being in love with him. People seem to have that feeling a lot in this village."

"It's no big deal," Sakura told him shakily. '_Yeah, right.'_ She quietly played with her hands for a moment. "I'm sorry, but I just can't explain it."

"It's okay…" Juugo told her. "I probably wouldn't be able to explain it either."

Suddenly changing the mood, Naruto called Sakura's name from behind. He had a big grin, as if he had discovered treasure, but was perplexed when he saw the man next to her.

"Naruto!" Sakura called back. She could feel him gauging her expression to figure out why Juugo was there. "We were just taking a walk," Sakura explained, hoping that would assuage all of Naruto's questions. "Getting some fresh air...y'know? Want to come?"

Of course, Naruto said yes, resulting in hours of discussing ramen, ramen, and more ramen. Juugo looked disgusted with Naruto after the first conversation.

"Hey!" Naruto suddenly shouted. He had an epiphany. "Maybe he can come to the party with us!"

News of a marriage and an engagement party in one day. Sakura hoped this wasn't overwhelming Juugo. She stole a glance at him and he scrunched up his face, looking even more confused at the notion of a party than a wedding.

"Sasuke…" he muttered, "…party?"

Without thinking, Sakura let out snort. Naruto and Juugo quickly turned towards her and she suddenly flushed.

"Sorry," she muttered. "It's not that I don't want him to come, but do you know how hard it was to let him even go walking with me?"

"Well he can come for the first half hour or so," Naruto suggested. "Or an hour. Or two. Anyway, it's almost dinner time so it starts soon."

Juugo and Sakura looked at each other. Were they walking that long?

"Just say you were still walking," Naruto added. "If that doesn't work," he said, thrusting his thumb to his chest with a big grin, "Then I'll cover for you!"

"Okay…" Sakura muttered. "So now I just need to find Sasuke so we can show up for 'dinner.'"

"He's already at your mom's house," Naruto told her, as Sakura wondered how Sasuke even knew about the dinner, seeing as he ignored her when she tried to tell him. Still, it was typical of Sasuke to be one step ahead of everyone.

As soon as they arrived at the house, Sasuke wasted no time to gripe at Naruto. "Naruto," he said. "Hurry up so we can get this nonsense over with." He raised his brow and let his eyes follow Sakura as she walked up, and then he turned his attention to Juugo. Sakura readied herself, as she wanted to yell at Sasuke for making her freak out and thinking he was going to beat Juugo earlier that day. Instead, she took the easy way out. Acting like nothing happened.

"Naruto's going to come in with us," she told him, "and er…Juugo's coming for a few minutes too."

Sasuke said nothing.

The three men stood in an unusual silence, and Sakura took this as her cue to start walking towards the home. Before making her way, she took Sasuke's hand. "Well," she quietly said, "we have to at least try to look like we're in love, right?"

Juugo and Naruto followed the couple towards the door. "Remember…act surprised!" Naruto told them. "I don't want to get in trouble or anything. Your mother is sooo strict."

Sakura sighed and frowned. "You're telling me," she told him, as Sasuke pushed the door open.

Upon looking into the home, all frowns (with the exception of Sasuke) vanished from their faces. About five seconds passed when Lee and a group of people after him jumped up.

"SURPRISE!!"

Sakura covered her mouth and faked a gasp. "W—wow!"

"Hn," Sasuke replied, surveying the room. His cool demeanor disappeared when Lee grabbed (Sakura was shocked when he dared to pull her hand from Sasuke's like that) his hands and shook both of them furiously.

"Sasuke-kun…Congratulations! You are so lucky to be marrying a beautiful woman!"

"I hear that!" Naruto called.

The decorations were elaborate, of course. There were red and blue streamers everywhere (a homage to Sakura and Sasuke's outfits, they presumed) and balloons to match. A table was in the center of the main room with punch, dumplings, and rice. Sasuke eyed a bowl of tomatoes.

Mrs. Haruno came from the kitchen, dressed in a blue kimono. She gave a disapproving look towards Sasuke and Sakura's lack of propriety, but also seemed to be the first one to notice Juugo, who stuck out like a sore thumb.

"What's he doing here?" she asked, pointing a bony finger.

"Mother," Sakura chastised her. "He's just visiting for a little while."

People were beginning to closely observe the mother and daughter. People who were anticipating an argument, that is. Sakura's mother put her hands on her hips. "Does the Hokage know about this?"

"Hey everyone!" Naruto suddenly called before Sakura could reply, "Drinking contest!" And with that, the spectators gathered around the food table, forgetting the whole ordeal. Sakura's mother barked at them, telling them that there was no sake. Sakura silently thanked Naruto, knowing that Juugo was doing the same thing.

"Hold on," Sasuke spoke up, and he departed into another room.

Not wanting to be left in an awkward conversation with Juugo, Sakura slipped off to talk to some familiar faces. She saw Neji and Tenten chatting in a corner and when she finally realized that she would never be able to properly butt into their conversation, a strong hand grabbed her arm.

"Come on," Sasuke commanded. "Let's get out of here."

Without thinking, Sakura let her feet follow in Sasuke's tracks. She was used to blindingly cooperating with his wishes even though she knew that wasn't a good thing. This was an exception.

After a few moments of walking the two arrived at Sasuke's apartment. Sakura gave him a questioning glance, but when he glared at her she quickly looked away.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Do you want to go back to the party?"

"Mmm."

"What?"

"No. I don't."

Finally taking the hint, Sasuke gave a quick nod and turned on the lights in his home. Sakura leaned against a wall while he sauntered into his kitchen.

"Are you tired?" he called over his shoulder.

"Yes," Sakura told him. There was no point in lying.

"You can use my bed," he said, without looking at her in the eye. Almost mechanically, he proceeded to make two cups of tea.

"You know..." she breathed as he set a cup of tea on a table near his bead. "This doesn't make up for you ignoring me earlier."

Sasuke cleared his throat after taking a sip from his drink. "I had something important to do."

"At the hospital? Wow…I didn't know you cared about people there that much!"

"Sakura," Sasuke muttered. "I just needed to talk to him about something." In other words, Sakura figured, he was saying, "This is your cue to shut up."

"Yeah I know," she quickly replied, blatantly not heeding the Sasuke's wishes. "Always with the sneaky stuff."

Sasuke shifted.

"You can lie down too," she told him, as if it were her own bed. "It's been a long day and…I don't bite."

"I'm not tired."

A moment later however, Sasuke was exhausted enough to lie next to her. Sasuke wasn't the type to immediately notice their intimate positions, but if he did Sakura knew he wouldn't act on it. Right now though, he was too tired to care. He closed his eyes while holding his tea cup on his chest.

"My mother would kill us if she found out that we left the party." Sakura softly groaned. "And if she found at I was at your home of all places. She doesn't like you for some reason. For not 'protecting' me that one day."

Sasuke didn't budge. "Ah."

Sakura nervously laughed. It seemed that he didn't want to talk about that day at all, so she went on a tangent. "So do you think they've even noticed we've gone?"

Sasuke shrugged. "They're not that smart." He turned his head towards Sakura's amused face. "And I am talking about all of them."

"Okay," Sakura replied. "I won't protest." She closed her eyes as well, but was disturbed a minute later as Sasuke slightly nudged her arm.

"You know…" he suddenly murmured. He set his cup on the floor and leaned over so that he lay on his side, now facing his fiancée. "You shouldn't take what you encounter for granted."

Sakura's mouth opened into an 'O' and she proceeded to blink rapidly as Sasuke slightly bit his lip and turned from her. The sudden change in subject both appalled and disappointed her. Why did he always have to ruin the moment?

"What do you mean?" she finally asked.

Although she knew she wouldn't have gotten a clear answer anyway, Sakura still frowned deeply when there was a knock on the front door. Before she could bark at the intruder to go away (because really, her mother had to be tracking her or something), as she and Sasuke were "busy," Sasuke was on his feet and already opening the door.

A young jounin stood in the rim of Sasuke's door, concern outlining his face. Sasuke looked unfazed, but Sakura was able to catch him giving her a wary glance. "What is it?" he demanded of the jounin.

The jounin looked past Sasuke into Sakura's eyes, a sign that she was the trustworthy one in the room. Probably something Tsunade warned the jounin about before hand. "Outsiders," he quickly informed her, "coming towards Konoha."

"Outsiders?" Sakura squeaked. She jumped up from the bed and ran to Sasuke's side. Sasuke looked as if he was ready to slam the door into the jounin's face.

The messenger nodded. "Sakura-san, Tsunade-sama wants you to pack your things and get ready for a mission." Sakura involuntarily nodded back at the other ninja as she realized that the situation was all too familiar to the mission Juugo was found.

"I have to go back to my apartment and pack my things," she told Sasuke. "I—I don't know what's going on," she stated the obvious, "but I'll be fine." She muttered the last bit as the jounin began to tug on her arm. "I love you," she mouthed to Sasuke as the jounin rushed out of the apartment and mentioned meeting at the Hokage's tower.

Sasuke took a deep breath and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. _'Me too.'_

oOo

Without much thought, Sakura threw various articles of clothing and weapons into a bag. She opened her refrigerator, pulling out food for the trip when she suddenly dawned on her that the party erupted into chaos after the news arrived. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the party was over. How was her mother reacting?

Sakura slammed the fridge shut and pursed her lips. It _would_ be the right thing to see her mother, who was probably freaking out about both her daughter's disappearance during the party and her duty to go on the mission. Sakura's inner self told her otherwise, but this was one of those times when she wasn't really reliable.

Sakura opened her mouth, surprised at her noble decisions. She frowned at little, sad that she was losing her rebellious side, but upon passing a mirror by the door the frown disappeared.

She looked awful, really. Hair slightly tousled and bags under her eyes. Her cheeks were particularly red too, but that wasn't because of the fact that many things were happening at once. At her worst, Sasuke had kissed her.

Never mind that she was at her worst. Sasuke had kissed _her_, and although short, it was a genuine one. The Uchiha usually went for the forehead, or if she was lucky, the cheek. He often liked to touch her face with his hands. He never bothered with the lips until now.

A scream erupted outside, and Sakura jumped out of her trance. The shriek wasn't a terrified one though, because it actually sounded like an order.

"Haruno Sakura!" she heard with mother shout with sadness and anger. "Are you in there?"

"Yes mom, it's me!" Sakura ran to the door and flung it open so she could grab her mother.

"Sakura!" Mrs. Haruno shrieked as her daughter hugged her. "Where'd you go during the party? And what's going on?" Although Sakura couldn't see her mother's face, she could tell that the woman was smiling.

"Sorry," Sakura quickly apologized as she let the older woman go. "Um…I'll talk to you later about that and I don't know."

Mrs. Haruno sighed. "So you're off to go on a dangerous mission again."

"The Hokage trusts me," Sakura told her, still disbelieving her own statement, "so I guess I have to."

"Naruto will be there, so I know you'll be fine."

"Yeah."

After a moment of studying her daughter's expression, Mrs. Haruno handed her daughter a piece of paper. Sakura gave her mother a perplexed look, but she was directed towards the letter again in response. "Someone left this at my home during the party. I didn't read it," Mrs. Haruno unconvincingly told her, "but they didn't sign it, so why does it matter anyway?"

Sakura observed the paper, turning it around in her hand. It had a few short words. "Thanks."

"I'll be going," she hastily replied, wanting her daughter to be at the Hokage's office on time. She gave Sakura a half hug. "Be safe."

After her mother's departure, Sakura left her home while simultaneously reading the letter. She figured it was probably a letter of congratulations, but as she got through more and more words she realized that was definitely not the case. It was short and to the point, but poignant.

_Sakura,_

_I'm sorry for telling you this right before the wedding and especially after I hurt you the other day. I didn't mean it and I'll try my best for something like that not to happen again. You may have trouble believing this after the past few weeks, but I'll still write it: I love you. I've recently realized this, but just can't say that to your face. Not now._

Sakura opened her mouth as she turned the paper over once again, hoping for more. That was it.

"Oh," she muttered, gripping the note in her hand. "Oh," she muttered again, while blanching. She winced, feeling a mix of guilt and pleasure rush within her. Who could write such a sweet note?

What she said about Lee, she took it back. Juugo was actually probably the sweetest person she had ever met.

That, unfortunately, was a big problem.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Okay, that long hiatus was because of a mixture of things. First, exams were coming up. Then I had a whole bucket load of end of the year final projects for my AP classes. Then the chapter was impossible to write and I started over. Then there were RL problems. Then I got lazy. Then I lost interest in Naruto for various reasons (sob). I'm still not that interested in it anymore, but I promised to finish this story. I will keep that promise. Thanks to anyone who's still reading this. You don't know how much I appreciate it.


End file.
